Brussels, 01/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - Before the beginning of the trialogue between the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission on the draft regulation on trade in conflict minerals on Monday 1 February, Amnesty International urged member states to “drastically strengthen a proposed law to ensure minerals used in phones and laptops do not fuel human rights abuses across the globe”.
“The European Parliament has strongly backed proposals that would force European companies to carry out checks that lessen the risk their suppliers are trading in so-called conflict minerals. But EU governments only want voluntary checks that are weaker than the international standards they have previously agreed to. There are strong grounds to believe that profits from the trade of conflict minerals with European companies have financed armed groups and led to human rights violations in countries ravaged by conflict”, Amnesty International states in a press release.
“Only a strong mandatory law can ensure people in the EU are not buying products that fuel serious human rights abuses on a daily basis”, says the NGO, mentioning a recent report showing that voluntary checks are failing to stop major electronics companies making products with cobalt mined by child labourers.
At the vote in first reading, by the European Parliament in May 2015, of the draft regulation proposed by the Commission in March 2014 to limit the financing of military and armed groups in conflict zones (like the Great Lakes in the DRC and in East Africa) via trade in tin, gold, tantalum and tungsten, MEPs decided not to finalise the position in first reading and to negotiate a final text in trialogue in order to avoid a second reading (see EUROPE 11318). (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)