Brussels, 17/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - The NGOs Amnesty International, Global Witness and Action Aid are far from happy with the political agreement, concluded in trilogue between the European Parliament and Council on Wednesday 16 June, on the draft regulation aimed at curbing the financing of military and armed groups in conflict areas (especially in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes region) through the extraction and trade of tin, gold, tantalum or tungsten (see EUROPE 11574).
“The agreement represents a first step in the right direction, but the law ultimately risks falling well short of its intended objective. EU policy makers have caved in to the demands of big business by exempting the vast majority of EU companies trading in minerals from the law”, the NGOs state.
“This decision leaves companies that import minerals in their products entirely off the hook. It's a half-hearted attempt to tackle the trade in conflict minerals which will only hold companies importing the raw materials to basic checks. The EU has international obligations to protect human rights but went only half way to meet them. EU investors and consumers still won't have any certainty that the companies they deal with are behaving responsibly. This law will change little - too little”, the three NGOs regret. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)