Dear colleagues,

We invite civil society organisations to sign-on to the attached joint open letter on the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation. The letter calls on Members of the European Parliament to push for a strong, effective law when they vote in May.

The Conflict Minerals Regulation is intended to ensure that companies in Europe source minerals responsibly and transparently from conflict-affected and high-risk areas. The Parliament is expected to vote on the Regulation at their Plenary session on 20 May. The result will define the Parliament's mandate for negotiating the final text of the law with the Council of the European Union.

This is a landmark chance to tackle a deadly trade that finances secretive security forces and abusive armed groups around the world. But the proposals currently on the table are weak and risk Europe lagging behind global efforts on corporate responsibility and transparency. We have an important opportunity to call on MEPs to take action, but it is vital that we show strong and unified civil society support for a better law.

If your organisation would like to sign-on to the open letter, please contact Lucy Graham, Amnesty International at [email protected] / (+44) (0)207 413 5936. The deadline for receiving signatures is 5pm (London time) on Wednesday 6 May.