Today, the Joint NGO position paper ‘Breaking the links between natural resources and conflict : The case for EU regulation’ was published. The initiative for this paper and lobby was taken by Global Witness, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Christian Aid, EURAC, IKV Pax Christi, JESC, Justice et Paix and SOMO. In total, 58 civil society organisations from around the world have now signed on to the paper, including the GoodElectronics Network and a number of individual GoodElectronics member organisations.
Today, the Joint NGO position paper ‘Breaking the links between natural resources and conflict : The case for EU regulation’ was published. The initiative for this paper and lobby was taken by Global Witness, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Christian Aid, EURAC, IKV Pax Christi, JESC, Justice et Paix and SOMO. including the GoodElectronics Network and a number of individual GoodElectronics member organisations such as the Workers Assistance Center (WAC) and Centre for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) from the Philippines; Fair Trade Centre and Swedwatch from Sweden; Finnwatch from Finland; Germanwatch from Germany; Suedwind from Austria, and SACOM from China.
The position paper calls on the European Commission to adopt legislation requiring European business entities to conduct supply chain due diligence in order to ensure that they do not contribute to conflict financing or human rights abuses in the production and trade in natural resources. Such legislation should, at a minimum, meet international standards endorsed by the United Nations and by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and reflect principles contained within the European Union’s own Corporate Social Responsibility strategy.
Organisations interested to join the current coalition in order to increase the pressure on the EU to introduce strong and effective due diligence legislation, are invited to contact Emily Norton at Global Witness at [email protected].
