Paper short abstract:

Through describing and categorizing different responsible sourcing initiatives, including on dimensions such as participation, transparency, and accountability, we lay the groundwork for further research on the participation of local actors in the design and governance of transnational initiatives.

Paper long abstract:

Ethical supply-chain initiatives, such as mandatory human rights due diligence (mHRDD) and responsible sourcing initiatives for minerals, are rapidly multiplying, the result of a “new global foreign accountability norm” (Partzsch, 2016). In the EU, 2021 legislation makes it a requirement for corporations to undertake human rights and environmental due diligence for minerals from “conflict-affected and high-risk areas”. Numerous initiatives have been set up - including by companies themselves - to help corporations mitigate negative human rights, environmental or labour impacts along their supply chains. We provide a comprehensive overview of initiatives, programs, and projects created by different supply-chain actors in response to growing concerns around “conflict minerals” from eastern DRC and, more recently, booming demand for cobalt from the Congolese provinces of Haut-Katanga and Lualaba. The DRC and its vast mineral resources - highly sought after on international markets for, most recently, electric vehicles - have been the epicentre and inspiration for many of these programs and initiatives. Such narratives have turned the DRC into a “laboratory” for corporate-led “ethical supply chain” initiatives (Autesserre, 2012). The impact on the ground in terms of reducing conflict and human rights violations has been ambiguous and points to contestation and reworking. Through describing and categorizing responsible sourcing initiatives, including on dimensions like participation, transparency, and accountability, we lay the groundwork for further research on local actors' participation in the design and governance of transnational initiatives. We first examine if/how different initiatives have conceived of and implemented measures to encourage participation by those upstream.