Conflict Minerals Amendment Becomes Law with Financial Reform Bill

On Wednesday, July 21, 2010, President Obama signed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 into law and with that, amendment 3397, the Conflict Minerals provision. This amendment was included in the Financial Reform Bill in an attempt to restrain funding to armed Congolese groups who trade conflict minerals. These gangs use violence and rape to coerce those to mine for columbite-tantalite (coltan), cassiterite (tin ore), gold, and wolframite.
 
Under this amendment U.S. companies, many of which produce consumer digital cameras, laptops, and cell phones, must file a report declaring whether the minerals in their products come from Congo or its surrounding neighbors. This provision sees to trace the origins of the minerals to reveal whether or not it funds these armed groups who have displaced, raped, and killed thousands of civilians.
 
Companies such as Hewlett Packard (HP) and Apple, who have denied sourcing minerals from the Congo area, will now have to submit such reports. The Executive Vice President of HP released a statement applauding Congress for the amendment saying, “We believe this provision will help provide much-needed transparency in companies’ supply chains, reduce the purchase and use of conflict minerals known to fund the ongoing armed conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and thus help reduce some of the factors that have contributed to the civil war there.”
 
This amendment was a bipartisan effort, receiving the support from both Republicans and Democrats; Senator Brownback (R-KS) introduced the amendment to Congress, while Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA), a Donald Payne (D-NJ), and Chairmen Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Barney Frank (D-MA), helped usher the bill through both houses of Congress. Berman called the bill "a critical first step in ending this threat to the stability of central Africa and a victory in the battle to combat injustice in one of the poorest countries in the world."
 
Some worry this may cause companies to leave the area, causing many Congolese to lose their jobs and that it could prove difficult to distinguish the minerals. However, several NGOs like the Enough Project said this legislation should come to no surprise.
 
Again, as Representative Berman suggested, we hope this is the first step to many changes in U.S. policies toward these armed groups in Congo in order to help put an end to the conflict in the country’s east.