Figure 1 shows the  DRC’s provinces and adjoining countries. The act required that  SEC promulgate disclosure and reporting regulations regarding the use of  conflict minerals originating from the DRC and covered countries. The SEC disclosure rule addresses the four conflict minerals named in  the Dodd-Frank Act from the DRC and covered countries. Conflict Minerals Disclosures Filed in 2017 Were Similar to Those Filed in Prior Years, and SEC Updated Guidance on Enforcement of Due Diligence Requirements

Our review of companies’ conflict minerals disclosures filed with the SEC  in 2017 found that, in general, they were similar to disclosures filed in the  prior 2 years. In their 2017 disclosure reports,  many companies described actions they took to improve data collection  processes, and most companies indicated challenges in determining the  country of origin. Percentages of Companies Reporting Minerals’ Country-of-Origin in 2017 Were Similar to Prior 2 Years

Our analysis of a generalizable sample of 2017 filings found that, as in  2016 and 2015, almost all companies that filed conflict minerals  disclosures indicated that they performed country-of-origin inquiries. As a result of the inquiries  they conducted, an estimated 53 percent of companies reported in 2017  whether the conflict minerals in their products came from covered  countries—similar to the estimate of 49 percent in 2016 and in 2015 but  significantly higher than the estimate of 30 percent in 2014 (see fig. 2). Almost All Companies Required to Conduct Due Diligence Reported Performing It

Our review of company filings found that almost all companies that were  required, as a result of their country-of-origin inquires, to conduct due  diligence on the source and chain of custody of the conflict minerals in  their products reported doing so. After conducting due diligence, an estimated 37 percent of the companies  reported in 2017 that they were able to determine that their conflict  minerals came from covered countries or from scrap or recycled sources,  compared with an estimated 39 and 23 percent in 2016 and 2015,  respectively. Four companies in our sample reported  determining that the minerals in their products did not finance or benefit  armed groups in covered countries, and declared some products “DRC- conflict free.” Three of these companies included the required  independent private-sector audit (IPSA) report, and one company did not  include an IPSA report. In addition, 1.9 percent of  men nationwide, ages 15-49, reported they had experienced sexual  violence in the 12-month period preceding the survey, while 6.1 percent  reported they had experienced sexual violence at some point in their  lifetime. The most recent information on the rate of sexual violence for  eastern DRC and Rwanda is from 2016 and is discussed in our previous  reports. State’s annual country reports on human rights practices  provided the following case-file data pertaining to sexual violence in the  DRC and Burundi:
DRC. Burundi. Agency Comments

We provided a draft of this report to the SEC, State, and the U.S. Agency  for International Development for comment. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

In this report, we provide information about (1) companies’ disclosures  filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2017  compared with disclosures filed in the prior 2 years and (2) the rate of  sexual violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and  neighboring countries published in 2017 and early 2018. We also interviewed officials from the United Nations  Population Fund and the United Nations Special Representative of the  Secretary-General in New York on Sexual Violence in Conflict. The Democratic Republic of Congo: Information on the Rate of Sexual  Violence in War-Torn Eastern DRC and Adjoining Countries.
Why GAO Did This Study

Over the past decade, the United States and the international community have sought to improve security in the DRC. In the eastern DRC, armed groups have committed severe human rights abuses, including sexual violence, and reportedly profit from the exploitation of “conflict minerals”— in particular, tin, tungsten, tantalum, and gold, according to the United Nations. Congress included a provision in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that, among other things, required the SEC to promulgate regulations regarding the use of conflict minerals from the DRC and adjoining countries. The SEC adopted these regulations in 2012. The act also included a provision for GAO to annually assess the SEC regulations' effectiveness in promoting peace and security and report on the rate of sexual violence in the DRC and adjoining countries.
In this report, GAO provides information about (1) companies' conflict minerals disclosures filed with the SEC in 2017 compared with disclosures filed in the prior 2 years and (2) the rate of sexual violence in the eastern DRC and adjoining countries published in 2017 and early 2018. GAO analyzed a generalizable random sample of SEC filings and interviewed relevant officials. GAO reviewed U.S., United Nations, and international organizations' reports; interviewed DRC officials, and other stakeholders; and conducted fieldwork in New York at the United Nations headquarters.
GAO is not making any recommendations.

What GAO Found

GAO's review of companies' conflict minerals disclosures filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2017 found that, in general, they were similar to disclosures filed in the prior 2 years. In 2017, 1,165 companies filed conflict minerals disclosures—about the same as in 2016 and 2015. Percentages of companies reporting country-of-origin inquiries in 2017 were also similar to the percentages from those 2 prior years. As a result of the inquiries they conducted, an estimated 53 percent of companies reported in 2017 whether the conflict minerals in their products came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and adjoining countries—similar to the estimated 49 percent in 2016 and 2015 but significantly higher than the estimate of 30 percent in 2014 (see figure). In their 2017 disclosure reports, many companies described actions they took to improve data collection processes, and most companies indicated some challenges in determining the country of origin.
Similar to the prior 2 years, almost all companies required to conduct due diligence, as a result of their country-of-origin inquiries, reported doing so. After conducting due diligence to determine the source and chain of custody of any conflict minerals used, an estimated 37 percent of these companies reported in 2017 that they were able to determine that their conflict minerals came from covered countries or from scrap or recycled sources, compared with 39 and 23 percent in 2016 and 2015, respectively. Four companies in GAO's sample declared their products “DRC conflict-free,” and of those, three included the required Independent Private Sector Audit report (IPSA), and one did not. In 2017, 16 companies filed an IPSA; 19 did so in 2016.
GAO found information on the rate of sexual violence in the 2017 Uganda and Burundi Demographic and Health Surveys. For Uganda, 22 percent of women and 9 percent of men reported they had experienced sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. For Burundi, 23 percent of women and 6 percent of men reported they had experienced sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. The most recent information on the rate of sexual violence for eastern DRC and Rwanda is from 2016 and is discussed in our previous GAO reports.