衝突礦產角力戰Wrestling with Conflict Minerals @ 聯合翻譯有限公司/聯合翻譯社

聯合翻譯引用自世界公民文化中心：http://blog.udn.com/corecorner/6390440

Wrestling with Conflict Minerals

文/Rex Lo(世界公民文化中心)

閱讀暖身

有關衝突礦產的議題就像是電影「血鑽石」的電子產業版本，所謂衝突礦產就是錫、鉭、鎢和黃金等現代人消費電子零件的主要原料來源。內戰長達15年的剛果共和國，就是因為反政府軍掌握這些礦產，使武力日益強大，致使2009年聯合國下令制裁剛果及周邊國家，而美國近來推行金融改革法案，也讓衝突礦產再次成為焦點。

進入本文前，請先想想以下單字：
(A)衝突礦產 (B)反抗軍 (C)阻礙

An iPhone can do a lot of things. But can it arm Congolese (B)rebels? That is the question being debated by a battalion of lobbyists from electronics makers, mining companies and international aid organizations that has descended on the Securities and Exchange Commission in recent months seeking to influence the drafting of a Dodd-Frank regulation that has nothing to do with the financial crisis.

一支iPhone 可以做到很多事，但是也能用來武裝剛果反抗軍?近幾個月這個問題已被許多遊說團體拿來辯論，包含電子廠商、礦業公司以及國際救援組織都找上美國證券交易委員會，並企圖影響金融改革法案的其中一條法規，雖然這條規定跟金融危機一點關係也沒有。

Tacked onto the end of that encyclopedic digest of financial reform is an odd provision. It requires publicly traded companies whose products use certain minerals commonly mined in strife-torn areas of Central Africa to report to shareholders and the S.E.C.

這項法案結尾被附加了一條較為奇特的條款。它規定所有公開上市公司的產品若使用中非特定爆發激烈衝突地區的礦物，都必須向股東以及美國證券交易委員會報告。

The measure is aimed at cutting off the brutal militia groups that have often taken over the mining and sale of so-called (A)conflict minerals to finance their military aims. Just about every company affected by the law says they support it, but many business groups have also been pushing aggressively to put wiggle room in the restrictions, calling for lengthy phase-in periods, exemptions for minimal use of the minerals and loose definitions of what types of uses are covered.

這項規定是為了斷絕殘酷的武裝組織擴充軍力的機會，這些組織通常都握有「衝突礦產」的採集及銷售權。雖然有很多受到規定影響的公司宣稱支持法條的推行，然而也有更多公司積極推行更大彈性空間，如加大分段實施的區間、限制金屬用途以及寬鬆定義使用類型範疇。