Corporate Responsibility in Business Dealings with War Criminals

Authors

Michael "Mac" RichardsFollow

Abstract

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a decades-long conflict has displaced over fourteen million people, killed over six million, and led to the highest rates of sexual violence among any other nation in the world. The DRC is the source of some of the most valuable resources used in the production of consumer electronics: gold, copper, and cobalt. Militia groups, such as Movement Du 23 Mars (M23) and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), are taking advantage of the nation’s vast mineral reserves by seizing control of local mining operations and exporting the minerals through neighboring Rwanda. These minerals are then sold on the global market to major corporations, particularly electronic manufacturers, for consumer devices such as smartphones, computers, and automobiles. The DRC’s Minister of Finance claimed in a 2023 statement that this illegal smuggling scheme costs the DRC approximately one billion dollars annually. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been working alongside the DRC government to hold militia groups accountable for their war crimes and crimes against humanity. In 2010, the United States (U.S.) sought to hold corporations responsible for their actions in other countries, specifically by mandating the reporting of where corporations source conflict minerals such as coltan, tin, tungsten, and gold. The following year, the United Nations (UN) created the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (the Guiding Principles), setting a benchmark for corporations and state actors to strive to meet. In 2014, recognizing that a binding international agreement was needed to hold corporations accountable for their role in perpetrating human rights atrocities, the UN drafted a binding treaty to regulate transnational corporations under international human rights law. However, after 10 years, the working group has yet to advance past the drafting stage. The European Commission passed its own Resolution in 2017 to promote the responsible sourcing of resources. Therefore, electronic companies must take responsibility by mitigating their indirect financial subsidization of war criminals through their complacency in purchasing minerals smuggled out of the DRC.