Nintendo criticised by conflict minerals advocacy group

Nintendo is in trouble with conflict minerals advocacy group the Enough project which claims it has made no effort to ensure the components it uses aren't funding paramilitaries in the Congo.

"Nintendo is, I believe, the only company that has basically refused to acknowledge the issue or demonstrate they are making any sort of effort on it," Sasha Lezhnev, senior policy analyst at the Enough Project, told CNN.

"And this is despite a good two years of trying to get in contact with them."

Out of 24 companies ranked by the Enough Project, Nintendo is the only one to score a zero mark. Nintendo reacted to the news with a statement that managed to avoid mentioning conflict minerals altogether.

"[Nintendo] outsources the manufacture and assembly of all Nintendo products to our production partners and therefore is not directly involved in the sourcing of raw materials that are ultimately used in our products," it told CNN.

"We nonetheless take our social responsibilities as a global company very seriously and expect our production partners to do the same."

Conflict minerals refers to any minerals like tin, tantalum and tungsten, purchased from troubled areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo where violence and human rights abuses are prevalent. The mines themselves are a hot spot for violence as military groups battle for control of them, and sales of the minerals fund further fighting.

Microsoft and Apple both received scores of 38, showing they have "taken proactive steps to trace and audit their supply chains, pushed for some aspects of legislation, exercised leadership in industry-wide efforts, started to help Congo develop a clean trade."

Sony received score of 27, meaning "more commitment and action on tracing, auditing, certification, and legislative efforts is required of them."