(CNN) -- A new U.S. law aims to ensure that smart phones are not helping fund wars in Congo and neighboring countries.
The provision -- tucked in the financial reform bill passed this week -- requires publicly-traded and electronic companies such as Apple and Intel to submit an annual report outlining what they are doing to ensure their minerals are "conflict-free".
The Democratic Republic of Congo is rich in resources, including cobalt, gold, copper and tantalum.
Some U.S. companies buy minerals used in jewelry, computers and cell phones from the war-ravaged eastern part of the country, where government forces have been battling rebels for years. Rights groups say profits from the minerals help fund the militants.
The bill does not mention the penalty for using conflict minerals, but says companies will have to certify where their minerals come from and what measures were taken to ensure they did not originate from conflict areas.
Results and disclosures would then be posted on the companies' websites, according to the bill.
"This is a step in the right direction," said Frederick Golooba-Mutebi, a senior research fellow at Makerere University in neighboring Uganda, who regularly visits Congo. "It protects the interests of the Congolese ... a lot of minerals are going to be certified, and the law will do away with fly-by-night businesses and introduce bona fide companies that don't infringe on the rights of the the people".
However, he cautioned, there's still work to be done.
CNN
