Due Diligence and Mineral Supply Chain Mechanisms

This chapter critically examines the evolution of due diligence instruments applicable to mineral supply chains. It begins by focusing on soft-law instruments and then transitions to binding instruments. The regulatory efforts, while emphasising traceability and due diligence, face significant challenges due to the intricate and dynamic nature of mineral supply chains, as illustrated through trade flows of tin, tantalum, tungsten, diamonds, gold, and coloured gemstones. In the first place, this chapter focuses on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP) and the OECD Guidelines, as responses to the lack of control over transnational mineral supply chains. Next, the chapter explores how these non-binding instruments have influenced the development of compulsory regimes for mineral supply chains with international and transnational impact, such as the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), the American domestic laws Tom Lantos Block and Burmese JADE Act, Dodd-Frank Act, The Great Lakes Region Traceability and Certification Regime, and EU Regulation N° 2017/821. It critically analyses the effectiveness of these compulsory regimes and raises questions about potential deficiencies stemming from political unwillingness or policy approaches rooted in past experiences and underlying narratives.