We, the undersigned organizations, write to you to express our strong opposition to any executive action suspending the conflict minerals rule promulgated by the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) pursuant to Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act. Suspending this rule would undermine U.S. national security interests, harm U.S. companies, and perpetuate conflict and instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its surrounding countries... Suspending this rule allows armed groups in the region to profit from conflict minerals, which would fuel instability and trigger more violence across the region. The conflict minerals rule has led to positive progress on the ground. Since promulgation, there has been a major reduction in the number of conflict mines for the subject minerals in eastern DRC... Trade in these minerals is now significantly less lucrative for armed groups. There is also evidence that disclosure and reporting results in clear benefits to companies and investors.

[signing groups: Act4Accountability, AFL-CIO, Africa Action, Al-Haq, Alliance To End Slavery & Trafficking (ATEST), Amnesty International USA, bead & reel, by / natalie frigo, Corporate Accountability Lab. Enough Project, Intl. Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Free the Slaves, Green America, Greenpeace USA, ICAR, Intl. Justice Project, Investors Against Genocide, Project on Organizing, Development, Education and Research (PODER), Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur, Maven Women, Responsible Sourcing Network]