"Halt illegal imports of conflict minerals from DRC, campaigners urge EU," 15 January 2025.

The European Union has been urged to clamp down on illegal imports of conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after evidence was found that current regulations had been breached.

The advocacy group Global Witness (GW) said there remained a “high risk” of the EU’s mineral imports being used to fund militias and state repression in several countries...

The EU’s Conflict Minerals Regulation came into full force in 2021, imposing due-diligence checks on companies importing the minerals from conflict-affected countries... But in a recent review, the EU Commission admitted that an external study had found “limited impacts among local stakeholders”. It also found “delays” and “implementation challenges”.

Separately, researchers at the Antwerp-based International Peace Information Service found the regulation’s impact had been “almost negligible, with illicit mineral trade continuing to fund conflicts”...

Documents obtained by the human rights organisation [Global Witness], and seen by the Guardian, appeared to show that a supplier sourced wolframite, a tungsten ore, from Nzibira in South Kivu province in early 2023 and passed it on to a European buyer, Traxys Europe, which rejected the allegations. Traxys said it was “firmly committed to work only with responsible and conflict-free supply chains” and “invests very considerable effort and resources” to do so...

Olof Gill, a spokesperson for the European Commission, said implementation of the regulation was being closely monitoring by member states... “The EU’s review concluded it wasn’t necessary to impose a more uniform sanction system at this stage,” he said. “We would encourage NGOs to inform responsible [member states] of any infringements of the regulation, so appropriate action can be taken.”