"Will the European Endgame on Conflict Minerals Put an End to Financing Rape in the DRC?",

In the Eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), armed groups...fund criminal enterprises with the substantial revenues from trade in certain minerals...The mining industry, upstream and downstream, must identify and implement responsible policies to avoid actively funding corruption, brutality, and rape as a coordinated, destructive tool to paralyze entire communities...We welcome the strong commitment shown by the European Parliament in order to reach an EU regulation that can make a change on the ground. To end conflict and bring about peace and development, a broad approach attacking the root causes of conflict, including gender equality, improved governance and security sector reform, is needed...The European Parliament proposed a regulation with mandatory requirements to address the funding of violence, the brutal oppression of women and girls, and the devastating impact on legitimate miners and their communities. The resulting legislation should, at the very least, impose explicit and mandatory conditions on importers sourcing materials from certain areas where the financing from the sales of conflict minerals is most severe. Without a mandatory requirement, exploitation and impunity will continue...