Blood in the Mobile Page #5

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Global Witness has a very simple solution:

The phone industry can pubblish their supply chain.

If Nokia wont do this, Ill never find out if theres blood in my mobile.

Mind the floor, so that you dont...Its slippery.

Saara, my contact at Nokia, arranges for me to talk to Abby-

-working directly with the supply chain.

-Hello, Im Frank. -Hi, Frank.

I have to say that with all the benefits-

-that mobile communication can deliver-

-it is frustrating that the change is not faster-

-when it comes to the challenges within the DRC.

I believe-

-that Nokia as an individual company-

-and also working at an industry level...

...that we are working then-

-as fast as we can to be part of a solution.

But the thing is...Unfortunately its not just down to industry alone.

I wish Nokia could solve this, but we cant.

I think we need to be a bit humble here and say that it relies on...

You are on the top 100 list of companies in the world.

Humility sounds a bit strange to me.

You have 100.000 employees worldwide.

You are the biggest player in the mobile industry.

Every third phone in the world is a Nokia.

We are, yes.

Thats the thing. As a global company and a market leader-

-we have a responsability to be part of the solution as a company-

-but then also help drive things at an industry level.

Its tricky. If we knew the answer, we would have done it a long time ago.

But one recommendation made by several NGOs is more transparency.

To put out your supply chain on your website for instance.

Why dont you do that?

We are committed to improving our transparency-

-and weve seen a number...

It would be very easy to demand from your suppliers-

-that they algo published their suppliers, so you get the whole chain.

That would make a great difference in tracing these conflict minerals.

There are some confidential sensitivies-

-in publishing supplier names-

-both for Nokia and for their suppliers as well.

You mean because of competition from other companies?

It could be competition and new technologies, issues like that.

There are factors to consider when deciding to make a list available.

So on one hand we have the competition-

-which is a race to get profit.

Am I right Competition is about getting the best profit.

And then we have dying children, raped women, millions of dead.

This is just to understand the dilemma here.

The recommendation from several NGOs is to publish your supply chain.

Youre not doing this because you want to make more money?

No, thats not what Im saying.

Im simplifiying it, but in a way isnt it so?

I dont think we can compare...

I cant see how we can compare, you know.

We need to be doing everything that is possible-

-to stop...

...or to use our influence to address the issues.

We are looking at how we can be more transparent-

-and maybe in the future but at the moment-

-there are issues of sensitivity...

I feel like throwing out my phone. But im addicted to it.

I still want to be able to call home and hear how the familys doing.

Apparently there isnt a single phone on the market-

-which is guaranteed conflict mineral free.

I want Nokia to take responsability for the minerals they use.

I go to the US Over there theyre working on a law in Congress-

-that will make blood minerals illegal.

I visit Raise Hope for Congo, who are some of the peoples behind the bill.

They are experienced in pressuring big corporations and seem serious.

Wellcome. Ill give you a tour and introduce you. This is Chloe.

-Chloe is our office manager. -Hi.

This is where our interns sit. Senna is one of our lovely interns.

This is Laura. Laura, this is Frank and Lars...

-Youre all wearing the same T-shirt. -They are our campaign T-shirts.

David Sullivan is our in-house conflict mineral expert.

-Hi. -Hello

Why would they hesitate doing anything about it?

It costs them money.

Audit cost some money. This is a time for recessions.

They say their sales are falling. But if you look at the latest figures-

-all cell-phone companies increased their sales over the last year.

It is a wonder why they havent taken more steps on this minerals issue.

They need to see more public pressure, before theyll take action.

If the people in Finland, who control Nokia-

-know about this, and they keep on doing it-

-what does that tell us about these people?

Part of the challenge, when youre trying actually-

-to compel these companies-

-to change their policies and devote real resources to a problem like this-

-is that at the one time youre trying to...

...to pressure them, and at the other time youre also working with them.

They all have their corporate social responsability departaments-

-whose job it is to meet with people like us and try to convince us.

And most of these people when you talk to them-

-are appalled about whats going on in the Bisie mine.

They dont want their company to be associated. They want to fix it.

But they tend to be some mid-level corporate responsability person-

-who doesnt have the authority or the budget-

-who doesnt have the ability to demand the resources-

-that are commensurate to the problem in Congo.

The people here emphasize the importance-

-of working on multiple fronts.

They not only lobby the industry, but also on a political level.

At the same time they create awareness through an internet campaign.

We launched the campaign 'Raise Hope for Congo'-

-that advocates an end to use of conflict minerals.

One of the founders, J. Prendergast, organizes celebrity activism-

-and gives speeches on Congo and the connection to our phones.

Hes a former advisor for the Clinton administration.

-Can he finish his dinner? - Sorry. You can finish it.

This issue makes my heart sink, but if we come together and speak up-

-we can become the first college in the nation to go conflict mineral free.

People talk about the countries being corrupt. But who is buying?

Left to their own devices these companies wont change behaviour-

-until there is consumer demand for change.

Wow... That guy knows what hes doing.

Were doing Darfur Thursday, right? Thats cool.

-Great. -Sure. My pleasure.

I noticed yesterday that you dont say. Publish your supply chain.

You say:
"If you make a phone that is conflict mineral free-

-well buy it". Is there a difference between these demands?

Transparency is one element of it, but its not enough.

If Apple and Wal-Mart and a few of these big companies say:

Within a year we want to see conflict free products-

-or well get our stuff ourselves. Then the refineries will do the rest.

Its human nature. This is how business is run.

They got to keep their costs down and will use slave labour if they can.

Until someone says: "Slavery!" And theyll say: "Sorry! Well stop".

It disturbs me when people say theyre doing their best. Its disingenous.

Its inaccurate. And it slows down the effort to try and get a solution.

Who suffers from that kind of deception? The people in Congo.

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