The European Union (EU) encompasses some 500 million consumers and represents both the largest economy and the largest economic community in the world. Each year, minerals worth millions of euros enter EU territory from some of the poorest regions in the world. No one asks any questions whatsoever about the mining methods that produce these minerals. Nor does anyone ask whether or not this trade is sustaining conflicts in mineral-producing regions. There are no European regulations requiring companies to supply minerals responsibly. It is time for all that to change.
Trade in natural resources such as gold, diamonds, tantalum, tin, copper, and coal sustains a cycle of conflict and human rights violations in many underdeveloped areas of the world. These resources pass through global supply chains into commercial markets, ultimately ending up in components of products that we use every day, such as airplanes, phones, automobiles, or laptop computers. We thus find ourselves connected to hundreds of thousands of persons displaced by conflicts that have erupted in the Central African Republic and Colombia. We are also connected to thousands of people who have suffered years of violence and atrocities in certain regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo, or to the unknown victims of Zimbabwe’s mysterious intelligence organizations.
In March 2014, the European Commission introduced draft regulations to address the issue of trade in conflict-zone minerals. Adoption of these regulations would not have had any significant impact as they only cover four minerals – tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold – and are non-binding. Under the draft regulations, importers of these four minerals (between 300 and 400 companies) could choose whether or not to supply them responsibly. The regulations also left to importers the choice whether or not to make their efforts public via a mechanism called “supply chain due diligence.” The draft regulations only addressed a tiny percentage of companies involved in the conflict-mineral trade. They also excluded tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold that entered European territory in the form of components of products that we use daily.
The European Parliament’s International Trade Committee has since proposed new binding measures, but these would only affect a small number of companies in the mineral sector. The Committee’s proposed regulations would impose no requirements on the vast majority of mining companies, including some who import minerals directly from conflict or high-risk zones, to supply minerals responsibly. Moreover, the Committee’s proposed regulations would have no effect whatsoever on companies that import products containing these minerals.
We have a historic opportunity for progress. The current proposals are still insufficient. They are, in their current form, weaker than binding measures that other countries have adopted to address conflict minerals, notably the United States and 12 African nations.
As a Member of Parliament, you can make a difference. We urgently ask you to vote on May 20 for legislation that:
- Requires all companies importing minerals into EU territory (whether as raw materials or product components) to apply due diligence to their supply chains and, pursuant to international standards, make information about supply chains available to the public;
- Has sufficient flexibility to allow future coverage of other resources that may be linked to conflicts, human rights violations, and corruption. Index: IOR 60/1667/2015
The struggle against the highly profitable trade in conflict-zone minerals cannot by itself end the clashes, the corruption, or the human rights violations. It is nonetheless imperative to defend peace and long-term stability in certain regions that are among the most fragile but richest in natural resources in the world. Trade in conflict-zone minerals will remain a source of funding and motivation for the perpetrators of violence and human rights violations as long as companies can profit from illicit, completely unregulated operations. If our efforts to regulate this trade are insufficient, the poorest and most vulnerable citizens in the world will continue to suffer the consequences. Inaction and irresponsible trade are, for those poor and vulnerable people, tragic.
Yours sincerely,
