The Impact of Country-Specific Contextual Factors on the Outcome of Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act Regulating Conflict Minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Abstract: The conflict mineral crisis has been ongoing in the DRC for nearly two decades, with armed groups and increased military presence have played on the tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold to fund a brutal war across the eastern region of the country. Recent international efforts to tackle such illicit trade in conflict minerals has focused on requiring relevant stakeholders involved in the mineral sourcing from the DRC to adhere to due diligence processes on their supply chains in an attempt to identify conflict-sourced minerals. In this regard, Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act was passed by the US Congress in 2010, requiring the US publicly listed companies using minerals from the DRC or its adjoining countries to carry out such due diligence on their supply chains. However, past experiences have shown that Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act backfired, resulting in many unintended consequences affecting the livelihoods of thousands of artisanal and small-scale miners, their families and local communities in general. The purpose of this study was not to address the quality of Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act, but to rather gain an understanding of the contextual factors specific to the DRC under which these provisions were implemented and understand what entails successful implementation thereof. In this regard, the DRC was analysed in light of its social, economic and political dimensions to understand their potential influence on the unintended consequences of Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act upon implementation, which resulted in, inter alia, a temporary ban on mining-related activities across the region and a de facto embargo on almost all cassiterite, tantalum, and tungsten, tantalum originating from the DRC. The findings made by this study will provide for the recommendations to ensure that policymakers do not focus on the policy alone, but rather adopt a holistic approach to the different strategic development options when formulating international policies regulating conflict minerals in the DRC and its adjoining countries.