By Amnesty International and Global Witness | Euractiv Est. 5min 13-06-2016 Colton and Tantalum from the Democratic Republic of Congo. [ResponsibleSourcingNetwork/Flickr] Euractiv is part of the Trust Project >>> Languages: FrançaisPrint Email Facebook X LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram In an open letter to the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the 28 member states, some 126 NGOs call for tighter regulation of conflict minerals, including Amnesty International and Global Witness. Global Witness, Amnesty International and another 124 NGOs have signed the open letter below – please see the ‘Futher Reading’ box for a full list of signatories. Minerals are key components in many everyday products, from mobile phones, laptops, and jewellery, to cars and light bulbs. In too many cases, however, the extraction and trade of these resources is linked to conflicts and human rights abuses. Civil society organisations have been documenting the links between minerals and these abuses for years,but these abuses persist EU institutions are currently working on a regulation that aims to tackle the sometimes deadly trade in four of these minerals – tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold. This initiative is long overdue. The EU is the largest trading block in the world and a significant destination for these minerals. The EU is also a major market for many of the products that contain these minerals; it is the second largest importer of mobile phones and laptops in the world. With power comes responsibility… With this come both a responsibility and the power to make a real difference by making sure its companies are sourcing minerals responsibly. In the minerals sector, the leading international standard for responsible business is the Due Diligence Guidance developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This standard has been endorsed by the EU and by doing so, it made a commitment to implementing it. Unfortunately, EU member states have little to show from years of voluntary initiatives and encouragement. As civil society organisations we have therefore called for a strong and effective regulation that would require all companies bringing these minerals into the EU – in whatever form – to perform some basic checks and due diligence on their supply chains, as is common in other sectors from food to financial services. Our calls have been echoed by business leaders, investors, religious leaders, and leading civil society activists. Through over 362,000 actions, EU citizens have also made it clear that they expect to be able to purchase products that have been sourced responsibly, transparently and sustainably. In May 2015 the European Parliament took a strong stance by voting for a binding law that would cover companies importing into the EU minerals in their raw form, as well as in products containing them. But more than a year later, negotiations are still ongoing. member states, in particular, have pushed back, promoting voluntary measures and self-regulation by business, while seeking to entirely exempt companies that import products containing these minerals from the scope of the law. The Dutch government, acting as President of the Council of the EU, has worked hard to secure an agreement over the past few months. We recognise and welcome this initiative that has introduced some much needed momentum into negotiations, but there is still work to be done to find an agreement that will effectively tackle the conflict and human rights risks in the mineral supply chains. Including companies that import products containing minerals in the regulation is vital to its effectiveness and impact. Many of the minerals that risk being linked to human rights abuses and conflict enter the EU inside manufactured products, and it is as a major destination for such products that the EU exerts its most significant commercial leverage over the supply chain. Companies that import these products must be covered by the regulation if the EU is to establish an effective due diligence system which prompts OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible supply chains of minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas Through petitions and e-mails addressed to EU decision-makers since May 2015: EU citizens have also made it clear that they expect to be companies throughout the supply chain to identify and mitigate the risk of contributing to conflict and human rights violations through their business activities. The OECD Due Diligence system is specifically designed to include companies along the entire supply chain. We are calling on the Council to listen not only to the European Parliament, but also to the many activists, investors, civil society, and citizens that have called for a strong and effective EU law. At a minimum, this means a regulation that covers companies that import into the EU minerals in their raw form as well as companies that import products containing these minerals. We also urge the Dutch government to make full use of its remaining time as President of the Council of the EU and continue to facilitate a constructive dialogue between the co-legislators. There is still time to deliver the regulation that the EU, and the communities that provide the resources upon which we are increasingly dependent, both deserve and need. Subscribe now to our newsletter EU Elections Decoded Email Address * Politics Newsletters Further Reading1 Amnesty International 2 Global Witness 3 Action Aid 4 ACCIÓN LIBERADORA, Fundación / member of REDES-ONGD 5 ACCION MARIANISTA PARA EL DESARROLLO, FUNDACION / member of REDES-ONGD 6 ACCIÓN VERAPAZ / MEMBER OF REDES-ONGD 7 ACRESCERE, FUNDACIÓN / member of REDES-ONGD 8 AES-CCC 9 Afro-Asiatisches Institut in Wien 10 Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l'Homme 11 Alboan 12 AMANI , Laicos Combonianos por el Sur / member of REDES-ONGD 13 AMARANTA, Fundación de Solidaridad / member of REDES-ONGD 14 AMI ONLUS (Associazione Maendeleo-Italia ONLUS) 15 Amigos de la Tierra - Spain 16 AMSALA / member of REDES-ONGD 17 Associazione Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII 18 Associazione Tumaini - un Ponte di Solidarietà 19 BAJAR A LA CALLE SIN FRONTERAS / member of REDES-ONGD 20 BAJAR A LA CALLE SIN FRONTERAS / member of REDES-ONGD 21 BENITO MENI, FUNDACIÓN / member of REDES-ONGD 22 Berne Declaration, Switzerland 23 Broederlijk Delen (Belgium) 24 Bruder und Schwester in Not – Diözese Innsbruck, Austria 25 BUEN PASTOR / member of REDES-ONGD 26 Business & Human Rights Resource Centre 27 CALASANCIO ONG / member of REDES-ONGD 28 CCFD-Terre Solidaire 29 CEEweb for Biodiversity 30 Celim Milano 31 Christian Aid 32 Christliche Initiative Romero 33 CMSR Centro Mondialità Sviluppo Reciproco 34 Comissió Justícia i Pau Barcelona 35 Comitato delle associazioni per la Pace e i Diritti Umani 36 Comitato trentino NOPPAW 37 Commission Justice et Paix Belgique francophone 38 COMPASIÓN, SOCOES / member of REDES-ONGD 39 Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité - CIDSE 40 Coordinamento Associazioni della Vallagarina per l'Africa 41 CORAZONISTAS, FUNDACIÓN / member of REDES-ONGD 42 COVIDE-AMVE / member of REDES-ONGD 43 CRUZ BLANCA, Fundación / member of REDES-ONGD 44 CSD - CONGREGACIÓN DE SANTO DOMINGO / member of REDES-ONGD 45 CVM Comunità Volontari per il Mondo 46 Danish Confederation of Trade Unions 47 Delwende, ONGD / member of REDES-ONGD 48 Diakonia 49 DIGNIDAD Y SOLIDARIDAD / member of REDES-ONGD 50 DKA Austria 51 ECOSOL SORD / member of REDES-ONGD 52 ENTRECULTURAS / member of REDES-ONGD 53 ESTEBAN G. VIGIL, FUNDACIÓN / member of REDES-ONGD 54 EurAc 55 European Coalition for Corporate Justice - ECCJ 56 FASFI - FUNDACIÓN AYUDA SOLIDARIA / member of REDES-ONGD 57 Federazione Organismi Cristiani di Servizio Internazionale Volontario -FOCSIV 58 Finance & Trade Watch, Austria FISC - FUNDACIÓN INTERNACIONAL DE SOLIDARIDAD COMPAÑÍA DE MARÍA / member of REDES-ONGD 59 60 FONDAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE BUON PASTORE ONLUS 61 Forest Peoples Programme, United Kingdom 62 Forschungs- und Dokumentationszentrum Chile-Lateinamerika e.V 63 FRATERNIDAD MISIONERA DEL SAGRADO CORAZÓN / member of REDES-ONGD 64 Friends of the Earth Europe 65 FUNDACIÓN AMIGÓ / member of REDES-ONGD 66 Fundación Mainel 67 FundEO, FUNDACION ENRIQUE DE OSSÓ / member of REDES-ONGD 68 FUNESO, FUNDACION EDUCATIVA SOLIDARIA / member of REDES-ONGD 69 German Watch 70 Gruppo Autonomo Volontari per la Cooperazione e lo Sviluppo del Terzo Mondo 71 HAREN ALDE / member of REDES-ONGD 72 Institute of Global Responsibility - Poland 73 ITAKA, FUNDACION / member of REDES-ONGD 74 Jesuit European Social Center - JESC 75 Jesuit Missions 76 JUAN CIUDAD ONGD para la salud / member of REDES-ONGD 77 KARIT Solidarios por la paz / member of REDES-ONGD KOO- Koordinierungsstelle der Österr. Bischofskonferenz f. internationale Entwicklung und Mission 79 KORIMA CLARETIANAS SUR / member of REDES-ONGD 80 La Bretxa 81 LADESOL, LAZOS DE SOLIDARIDADFUNDACION / member of REDES-ONGD 82 LARES, FUNDACION / member of REDES-ONGD 83 Latin American Mining Monitoring programme - LAMMP 84 London Mining Network 85 MADRESELVA, Fundación / member of REDES-ONGD 86 MARY WARD, FUNDACIÓN / member of REDES-ONGD 87 MERCEDARIAS MISIONERAS DE BERRIZ – MMB / member of REDES-ONGD 88 Milieudefensie, Friends of the Earth Netherlands 89 Misereor 90 MISIÓN SIN FRONTERAS, Amigos de Comboni / member of REDES-ONGD 91 OCASHA, Cristianos con el Sur / member of REDES-ONGD 92 Ökumenisches Netz Zentralafrika 93 p.h Balanced Films 94 Panzi Foundation (USA 95 PMU 96 Polish Institute for Human Rights and Business 97 Power Shift e.V 98 PROCLADE BETICA, Fundación / member of REDES-ONGD 99 PROCLADE CANARIAS, Fundación / member of REDES-ONGD 100 PROCLADE, FUNDACIÓN / member of REDES-ONGD 101 PROKARDE, / member of REDES-ONGD 102 PROLIBERTAS, FUNDACIÓN / member of REDES-ONGD 103 PROYDE, ASOCIACIÓN / member of REDES-ONGD 104 PROYDE-PROEGA / member of REDES-ONGD 105 PUEBLOS HERMANOS, PPHH / member of REDES-ONGD 106 Rete Pace per il Congo 107 RSJG, SAN JOSÉ DE GERONA / member of REDES-ONGD 108 SAL, SOLIDARIDAD CON AMÉRICA LATINA / member of REDES-ONGD 109 Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund 110 SED, SOLIDARIDAD, EDUCACIÓN, DESARROLLO / member of REDES-ONGD 111 SELVAS AMAZÓNICAS / member of REDES-ONGD 112 Sherpa 113 SIEMPRE ADELANTE, FUNDACIÓN / member of REDES-ONGD 114 SIGNOS SOLIDARIOS, FUNDACIÓN / MEMBER OF REDES-ONGD 115 Siloé, Asociación / member of REDES-ONGD 116 Solidarietà e Cooperazione 117 Solidarietà-Muungano Onlus 118 SOMASCA EMILIANI, EMILIANI ongd, FUNDACIÓN / member of REDES-ONGD 119 SOMO 120 SPINOLA SOLIDARIA / member of REDES-ONGD 121 Stop Mad Minning 122 SÜDWIND 123 TALLER DE SOLIDARIDAD, FUNDACIÓN / member of REDES-ONGD 124 TRABAJO Y DIGNIDAD, FUNDACION / member of REDES-ONGD 125 Urgewald Germany 126 Welthaus Dioezese Graz-Seckau