On April 22, 2015, two human rights non-governmental organizations, Amnesty International and Global Witness, published a report, Digging for Transparency (the “Report”), analyzing compliance by US reporting companies with the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) conflict minerals rules. The rules, which were adopted by the SEC in 2012 pursuant to Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, implemented reporting requirements for SEC reporting issuers that use tin, tungsten, tantalum or gold (“conflict minerals”) in their products. Calendar year 2013 was the first year for which compliance with the conflict minerals rules was required, and the first conflict minerals disclosures were required to be filed with the SEC by June 2, 2014.

The Report, analyzed the conflict minerals disclosures of 100 companies and provides helpful insights for identifying best practices for conflict minerals supply chain due diligence and reporting. For companies that are working towards preparing their conflict minerals disclosures for calendar year 2014, which must be filed by June 1, 2015, the Report’s recommendations for improving conflict minerals compliance will undoubtedly be relevant. The Report is also relevant to companies’ compliance with the conflict minerals rules insofar as the SEC staff may be influenced by the Report’s findings in issuing comment letters regarding companies’ conflict minerals disclosures.