Brussels, 04/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - The Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament is looking to influence the draft legislation on minerals from conflict areas.
Following two days of debate, on 2 and 3 October, with experts, NGOs, diplomats and representatives of industry and civil society, the S&D Group has pledged to work for a fairer policy on raw materials that respects human rights, labour rights and social and environmental standards and that ensures that natural resources are available to the local population, while looking for solutions to guarantee the EU's industrial productivity and competitiveness.
“The need for natural resources will only increase in future years and it is crucial to find the balance between human rights and economic interests. We cannot turn a blind eye to abuses in countries where the local population should be benefitting, but are instead suffering human right abuses and inhuman working conditions”, said group leader Hannes Swoboda (Austria) in a press release. “Europe was built on coal and steel, on the idea that working conditions and decent work are fundamental to our European identity. We cannot abandon our principles just because the cost of raw materials seems too high. Exploiting the resources of foreign countries through corruption, child labour, deforestation and contamination is too high a price to pay”, added Véronique de Keyser (Belgium).
De Keyser would like to see the United Nations Human Rights Council create a special rapporteur for raw materials and international legislation to support efforts in Europe. The S&D Group promises to work actively with the Commission on the upcoming proposal on responsible sourcing of materials originating in conflict areas and high-risk areas (see EUROPE 10915). It also calls for an existing initiative on this issue, International Labour Organisation Convention No 169, to be strengthened. This legally binding international instrument on the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples has only been ratified by 20 countries so far. (EH/transl.fl)