The European Union is failing to stifle a deadly trade in conflict minerals, a coalition of rights groups warned on Wednesday, ahead of weak new legislation being discussed in Parliament.
A new analysis by Global Witness shows that companies are bringing billions of euros worth of minerals into Europe without having to disclose if their purchases finance armed groups or human rights violations in countries ravaged by conflict.
"At the moment we have no way of knowing what European companies are doing to avoid funding conflict or human rights abuses," said Michael Gibb of Global Witness.
"The European commission has proposed legislation it claims will tackle the problem, but the draft law only goes so far as to suggest companies voluntarily check and declare the source of their minerals. Putting it starkly, this legislation will not meaningfully reduce the trade in conflict minerals," he added.
The analysis reveals the extent of the EU's role in the trade of minerals, which if sourced without proper checks from conflict-affected and high-risk areas, can be used to pay for armed groups and security forces who inflict insufferable violence on local communities.
The minerals can end up in products such as mobile phones, laptops, cars or light bulbs. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Colombia and Central African Republic, the trade has fuelled deadly conflicts that have displaced over 9.4 million people and led to egregious human rights abuses. In Colombia, the mining companies themselves have been associated with human rights violations.
The EU accounted for almost a quarter of the global trade in tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold ores and metals last year, worth EUR28.5 billion, according to the new research. In the same year, 240 million mobile phones and over 100 million laptops were imported into the EU, all of which also contain these minerals. Currently, companies are not required to ensure that the proceeds from this trade do not end up in the wrong hands.
"There's good reason to believe European companies are profiting from mineral trades that are filling the pockets of abusive armed groups inresource-rich countries like Congo and Colombia," said Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty International's Director for Global Issues.
The new analysis is revealed as the NGO coalition publicly calls on MEPs and EU Member States to overhaul the proposed law and create something that will give consumers confidence that their purchases do not contribute to harm overseas. Supporters such as Blood Diamond director, Ed Zwick, have backed the campaign.
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