ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the involvement of companies in conflict and the risks they pose for human rights, as well as the international and national voluntary and legal initiatives to regulate their conduct and address the impact of their activities on human rights. It focuses on PMSCs and their specific activities as direct and indirect participants in conflicts. Nonstate actors play a key role in many contemporary conflicts. The term conflict minerals is currently being used to refer to the minerals from which the metals used in the manufacturing of most electronics, from consumer electronics such as phones and tablets to large industrial machinery, are extracted. A key instrument in relation to business and human rights are the Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development (OECD) Guidelines on Multinational Enterprises, which has been a reference for companies' social responsibilities with regard to corporate governance, labour rights, corruption, and environmental issues since its first adoption in 1976.
