DRC Minister of Mines Joins Cobalt Action Partnership Published 12-23-20 Submitted by Responsible Business Alliance ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 23, 2020 /CSRwire/ – The Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI), as the Partnership Lead of the Cobalt Action Partnership (CAP), today with CAP Implementing Partners announced that His Excellency Professor Willy Kitobo Samsoni, National Minister of Mines of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is joining the CAP Steering Committee. This step demonstrates a significant step to link the global desire for responsible cobalt supply chains with the important commitment of DRC government actors. The CAP, an initiative in collaboration with the Global Battery Alliance, was formalized in May 2020 as a broad-based and multi-sectoral, public-private coalition of organizations. CAP promotes the engagement and commitment of companies towards sustainable and inclusive cobalt value chains, and aims to foster transparent, evidence-based and responsible cobalt value chains to improve safety and working conditions, promote gender equality, address corruption and human rights abuses such as child labor and forced labor, mitigate negative environmental impacts, and meet ambitious sustainability targets, consistent with national regulations and relevant international standards. Cobalt is important for the local and national economies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), yet the sector faces significant challenges to translate this mineral wealth into sustainable development outcomes and equitable distribution of productivity gains. Given the nature of risks and the complexity of supply chains, due diligence is imperative but often challenging.