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Article

28 Apr 2015

Author:
Amnesty Intl., Global Witness, Bern Declaration, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, Environmental Justice Foundation, Global Policy Forum, Jesuit Missions, PowerShift e.V. (Germany)

Text of open letter to members of the EU Parliament

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In March 2014, the European Commission put forward a draft regulation to address the trade in conflict minerals that, if passed, would fail to have a meaningful impact. It covers just four minerals: tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold. It is entirely voluntary...The law would only cover a tiny proportion of EU companies involved in the trade, and leaves out the tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold that enter the EU in products that we use every day....The European Parliament’s International Trade Committee has since proposed some mandatory requirements – but these also apply to just a small fraction of the industry....We are calling on you to vote...for a law that: Requires all companies bringing minerals into the EU – whether in their raw form or contained in products – to carry out supply chain due diligence and publicly report in line with international standards. Is flexible enough to cover,in the future, other resources that may be linked to conflict, human rights abuses and corruption.

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