This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Meeting between Trade and CIDSE'.


Ref. Ares(2019)2457395 - 08/04/2019
Petition “TELL EU LEADERS TO STOP 
CONFLICT MINERALS”
 
Subject: Stand up in favor of an ambitious regulation on « conflict minerals » 
Dear Madam, Dear Sir,
The “conflict minerals” regulation is currently being negotiated between the European 
Parliament, the European Commission and the 28 EU Member States. The stated objective is to 
break the links between natural resources and conflicts, as is the case in the east of the 
Democratic Republic of the Congo but also in Myanmar or Colombia. Confronted today with 
violence and abuses by armed groups, it is the local populations that are paying the price for the 
exploitation of certain natural resources.

While I welcome this initiative from the European Union, I am concerned about the position 
adopted by the Council on 17 December 2015, in which EU Member States only propose a 
voluntary opt-in system that ignores the vast majority of minerals entering the EU market within 
finished or semi-finished products. As a citizen, I am deeply worried that the products I buy might 
hide a story of suffering; I therefore want to ask for a legislation that ensures that the products I 
use daily do not fuel violence and abuses. I demand a legislation that put at its core the ethical 
dimension of production and trade.

For the legislation to truly contribute to breaking the links between natural resources and 
conflicts, I call on you to: 
 
1. Show leadership on this issue by supporting mandatory due diligence requirements along 
the entire supply chain. 
2. Support a Regulation that aligns with the OECD Due Diligence Guidance on Conflict 
Minerals, by:  
o
Ensuring that all due diligence obligations are consistent with the OECD 
standards
 
o
Engaging companies downstream of metal importers, in particular companies that 
place products containing covered minerals on the EU market
 
o
Including language that reflects the flexible and progressive nature of due 
diligence.
 
As a European citizen, I ask you to promote the adoption of an effective regulation that will truly 
contribute to putting an end to conflicts, and I am sure I can count on you for this.

Kind regards,