“Powering Down Corruption: Tackling Transparency and Human Rights Risks from Congo’s Cobalt Mines to Global Supply Chains,” is based on findings from interviews both inside and outside Congo with over 500 miners, traders, government officials, and representatives from civil society and end-user companies. In conjunction with the report, Enough is also launching a consumer activist campaign...

Congo produced approximately 60 percent of the world’s cobalt in 2017, and with electric vehicle manufacturers and consumer electronics companies scrambling to secure their access to this critical material as demand increases, there is a nearly unprecedented opportunity for companies to engage proactively and continuously in dedicated supply chain due diligence—or for corrupt networks to make millions in a climate of scarce regulation and oversight...

Companies should actively incorporate transparency initiatives into their sourcing protocols in order to address the corruption and human rights abuses linked to cobalt production. In particular, companies in the automotive and consumer electronics industries, should:

• Conduct thorough and consistent due diligence and public reporting, with attention to corruption-related risks.

• Collectively, through relevant industry associations, visit cobalt mine sites to ensure compliance and reinforce their prioritization of transparency and anticorruption initiatives.

• Use supply chain leverage to increase contract and subcontract transparency.

• Contribute to benefits-sharing and livelihoods programs and comply with internationally recognized frameworks for obtaining and maintaining consent to operate from host communities...