On 20th May, the European Parliament will vote on a proposed regulation to tackle the trade in conflict minerals. This trade in tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TG) is fuelling conflict which has had devastating consequences for people in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Colombia.
In this memorandum EurAc presents an analysis of the regional challenges and specific challenges for each of the three countries (DRC, Burundi & Rwanda), which the EU must take into consideration in order to effectively and sustainably support peace and democracy in Central Africa. This analysis is supplemented by recommendations addressed to the various competent European political decision-makers.
The discussions surrounding the proposed EU Regulation seem to have intensified the debate on the lessons to be learned from the many initiatives launched in DRC to fight against the phenomenon of ‘conflict minerals’. EurAc would like to contribute to this debate by setting out in this document the analytical bases of its position and recommendations. These bases aim at clarifying the main lessons to be learned from DRC to date.
The European Network for Central Africa (EurAc) calls on representatives of European Union (EU) Member States and of the European Parliament participating in the trilogue to revisit their copy on the establishment of the ‘White List’ of smelters and refiners certified as ‘responsible’ and on the definition of exemption thresholds for ‘small’ volumes of minerals and metals of tin, tantalum and tungsten (commonly called the ‘3Ts’) and gold imported into the EU.