"EU Responsible Mineral Sourcing Regulation: Civil Society Response to the Council Mandate Agreed by COREPER on 17 December 2015", 9 Feb 2016

The devastating impacts of the trade in minerals linked to conflict and human rights abuses are well documented. The problem has not gone away. A series of recent reports and events highlight the urgency of confronting this challenge and the reputational damage that companies and investors can suffer when meaningful due diligence is not carried out…The Council’s mandate fails to offer an effective EU response to this problem…proposing a voluntary scheme and ignoring the vast majority of companies that place tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold (‘3TG’) on the EU market…It is also significantly undermining…the OECD’s Due Diligence Guidance…[T]he Council is watering down the very meaning of being a responsible company…The contrast between the Council’s position and the EU’s rhetoric on responsible supply chains could not be starker…The EU Regulation offers EU Member States a timely opportunity to deliver on…commitments…[Also refers to Apple, Kardiam, Samsung, Sony, and Vodafone.]