Regulate Conflict Minerals to Help Save Lives in the Congo
- par: Care2
- destinataire: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Rare earth minerals, used in cell phones, laptops and MP3 players, are fueling a war that has caused millions of deaths in eastern Congo.
Tantalum, tin, tungsten and gold are commonly found in many electronics. This may not seem important to us but these high value minerals are controlled by the Congolese National Army and various rebel groups.
Rape and murder are used to intimidate communities into mining the minerals. They receive no pay for their laborious work in dangerous conditions while the Congolese National Army is making millions of dollars in the sales of these minerals to overseas clients.
In response to the Dodd-Frank Act, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is proposing a number of regulations placed on conflict minerals to require full disclosure, but many mining and electronic companies are encouraging the SEC to loosen its regulations to make it easier for them to trade.
Tell the SEC that lives are more important than gadgets! Please sign this petition.
We the undersigned write to express our great concern about conflict minerals in the Congo. The high demand for these minerals has helped fuel some of the worst warfare in history.
We believe that the current U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to require mining companies disclose all information regarding where their minerals came from is a powerful beginning to ending this horrible conflict.
Please don’t give into the pressure from large mining and electronic companies to loosen the regulations you’ve proposed.
