Progressio calls for regulation of conflict minerals

Negotiations are taking place in the European Parliament concerning the regulation of 'conflict minerals'. The extraction of these minerals often takes place so they can go in to smartphones, tablets or laptops which we use everyday, but the extraction practices could be funding armed groups and contributing to violence. Progressio is concerned that only a voluntary regulation is being put forward and many minerals that are entering the EU market are not being included in the regulation design at all, so will continue to fuel conflict.

In countries such as Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar, local populations are suffering from violence linked to natural resource extraction. People can be victims of mutilation, massacres, rape, slavery and massive displacements simply because they live near a mine. Violence against women is particularly severe. At the moment companies are not obliged to check their entire supply chains to see if the products they are sourcing contain conflict minerals.

Progressio wants to see an end to the link between natural resource extraction and conflict but this cannot happen while decision-makers are not using their full power to regulate the importation of these products. From its work in Zimbabwe, Progressio has witnessed the impact of diamond mining on communities, where too often companies are able to violate rights and put profits before people. CIDSE, the Catholic International Cooperation for Development and Society, has been working on this issue and bishops around the world contributed to the 2015 CIDSE statement on conflict minerals.

Petition EU ministers to stop conflict minerals: www.progressio.org.uk/tell-eu-leaders-stop-conflict-minerals

CIDSE statement on conflict minerals, April 2015 www.cidse.org/publications/business-and-human-rights/catholic-leaders-statement-on-conflict-minerals.html