European Commission urged to implement Regulation on ‘conflict minerals’ properly

NGO’s urge the European Commission and EU member states to properly implement the EU Regulation on the responsible sourcing of minerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas.

The policy note provides a critical assessment of the state of implementation of the Regulation. It also addresses recommendations to the Commission and Member States to duly fulfil their obligations under the Regulation, among others:

• The Commission should base their assessment of due diligence schemes not only on their policies and standards, but also on the actual implementation thereof, or make clear that an assessment of implementation has not taken place.
• Member States should ensure that Customs Agencies make the list of national importers available to Competent Authorities and the Competent Authorities should make this list available to the public
• Appropriate measures should be put in place to sanction non-compliance by national importers with the Regulation’s due diligence obligations.