Since publication of a UN-report in 2002, it is widely recognized that the mining and trade of minerals in the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo significantly contributes to financing violent conflicts. Although the Second Congo War officially ended in 2003, fighting continues in some of the eastern parts of the country, where government forces, militias and armed groups, fight over domination and control.

In reaction to this situation, Section 1502 of the US-American Dodd-Frank Act introduced binding rules for the use of “conflict minerals” in mid-2010. Nevertheless, the implementation of these rules have various and partly unintended consequences for the situation in the eastern DR Congo.

The study „Conflict minerals – An evaluation of the Dodd-Frank Act and other resource-related measures“ analyses the link between resources and conflicts as well as the effects of the Dodd-Frank Acts on the ground. In addition, other measures and initiatives aiming to cut the interrelation between resources and conflicts are described. Based on this analysis, the study provides recommendations for a European response to the conflict mineral issue.

Please find the presentation and the report here.