Workshop on International Law, Natural Resources and Sustainable
Development
The Construction of Private Responsibility for Human Rights in Conflict Zones: The Case of
Conflict Minerals
Juliane Reinecke
Warwick Business School, University of Warwick
This study examines the processes through which private (co-)responsibility for human
rights is constructed. It is now widely accepted that the global regulation of production has,
at least partly, moved beyond the state toward a global governance triangle in which state,
market and civil society actors collaborate –and compete – for defining global norms. As
part of this, private companies have taken on responsibilities for what were previously
considered public issues. However, what counts as public and what as private
responsibilities remains highly contested. This question of who takes responsibility and how
is particularly critical with regards to the protection of human rights in conflict zones, where
local states fail to protect their citizens. Drawing on a case study of conflict minerals
regulation, this paper examines how private responsibility for human rights abuses in the
Democratic Republic of Congo was established through a process of political contestation by
NGOs, state actors and industry. The study has implications for rethinking the relationship
between state, market, civil society as a mechanism of transnational governance.