An organisation which attempted to halt the trade of conflict minerals has failed to achieve this aim, Global Witness said in an April 26 report.
The International Tin Supply Chain Initiative, established in 2009 by the International Tin Association with the eventual participation of the Tantalum-Niobium International Study Centre, aimed to create a reliable supply chain which did not include minerals linked to child labour or armed groups.
However, the ITSCI has been tainted by minerals originating from unvalidated mines, which include mines with militia involvement or child labour, Global Witness said.
The problem is particularly present in Nzibira in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the organisation alleged.
ITSCI has been aware of this issue since 2014, Global Witness said, but still declined to include this in its public incident reporting.
A UN report in 2018 also found that these problems in responsible mineral sourcing were ongoing.
Global Witness alleged that sourcing from mines linked to armed factions and mines using child labour continues to be a problem in 2021. These issues also plague mines located outside of Nzibira. The organisation found problems at several other mineral tagging centres in North and South Kivu which are allowing conflict minerals to be cleared through the ITSCI scheme.
The lack of staff and oversight at the ITSCI facilitates this trade in conflict minerals, and ITA appears unwilling to address the issue, Global Witness said.
ITA and Pact, an NGO which serves as ITSCI's implementing partner, deny that the supply chains in these regions are contaminated with ill-gotten minerals.
Global Witness alleges that companies including Apple, Intel, Samsung, Motorola, and Tesla have used these conflict minerals, and that Hong Kong, Dubai, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Austria, Malaysia, and China are instrumental in smelting these minerals.
The NGO called on ITSCI and ITA to reform the ITSCI governance structure to ensure conflict minerals are not passing through the supply chain, and to publish mine-level production data for minerals tagged by ITSCI.
