LONDON, April 22 (UPI) -- A recent report found that nearly 80 percent of U.S. public companies failed to adequately check for and disclose whether their products contain conflict minerals from Central Africa.
The "Digging for Transparency" report by Amnesty International and Global Witness, both based in London, England, analyzed 100 conflict minerals reports filed by companies including Apple, Boeing and Tiffany & Co.
More than 1,000 U.S. companies that may source minerals from Central Africa submitted reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2014 under the Dodd Frank Act of 2010, known as the conflict minerals law.
The report found that 79 of the 100 companies analyzed, failed to meet the minimum requirements of the conflict minerals law and that more than half of the companies do not report to senior management when a risk of using conflict minerals is found in the company's supply chain.
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Most companies are not doing enough to map out the supply chain of the minerals they purchase, according to the report.
"Only 16 percent go beyond their direct suppliers to contact, or attempt to contact, the smelters or refiners that process the minerals," the report states.
Minerals used for electronics and other purposes are mined in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has deposits of gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum.
"These minerals are essential for electronic devices, such as smartphones and laptops," according to the report. "For over fifteen years armed groups in eastern Congo have preyed on the mining sector to finance their operations with devastating impact, committing gross human rights abuses in the process."
The report found that one in five companies did comply with the U.S. law's requirements, which "dismantles the argument put forward that implementation is too difficult and too expensive," the report states.
