PRESS RELEASE October 25th 2015
« Blood minerals » :
A large majority of French people in favor of a binding legislation
On October 27th, the representatives from the governments of the European Union will be discussing about a draft regulation regarding the traceability of minerals sourced from conflict-affected areas called “blood minerals”. While France will have to submit its position on this European project for the first time, the CSA survey which came out on October 25th reveals that 83 % of French citizens, four in five people, wish France to be in favor of a binding legislation.
If only 14% of those surveyed state having heard about the expression “blood minerals”, nearly one in two French citizens says that he knows that “the mobile phones contain minerals which can be the cause of conflicts or of human rights violations in countries where there are extracted”.
The survey reveals the importance of the traceability for the consumers. 66 % of them confirm that having the information on the consequences and the mining conditions of these minerals could influence their decision when purchasing an electronic device.
87 % of the people surveyed declare that they don’t trust mobile phones manufacturers to communicate openly and to inform the consumers about the origin and the manufacturing conditions of their products. The results of this survey ensure that it is difficult to be satisfied with voluntary statements, or with the goodwill of the companies involved in this trade. Moreover, 89 % of those surveyed want a binding legislation in France to supervise this trade and et 83 % are in favor of a European binding legislation.
The European Parliament has already voted on 20 May in favor of a daring European regulation that would impose a duty of care (due diligence), which means control procedures for all companies linked to this trade, including those that sell finished products such as computers, tablets, cars, cell phones, etc.
The French government can’t ignore the strong position statement of the Parliament and the clear expression of the French citizens on this issue. The State Members must now make their decision and face their responsibilities.
*CSA poll conducted October 13th to 15th 2015 with 994 people and commissioned by
AITEC, Amnesty International France, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, Info-Birmanie, Secours Catholique - Caritas France et Sherpa.
Note to editors
Mobile phones, but also computers, cars and other items of everyday life contain minerals (tin, tungsten, tantalum, gold ...) which trade can fund armed groups responsible for serious human rights violations.
In 2013, the EU imported around 240 million of mobile phones. In a standard mobile phone there are about 6.6 g of tin, 0.83 g of tungsten, 0.04 g of tantalum and 0.63 g of gold. This means that some 1584 tons of tin and 151 tons of gold entered the EU only through mobile phones and only for the year 2013. (Source Global Witness)
Press contact :
AITEC : Lala Hakuma Dadci, +33 1 43 71 22 22, lala-hakuma.aitec@reseau-ipam.org Amnesty International France : Véronique Tardivel, 06 76 94 37 05, vtardivel@amnesty.fr CCFD – Terre Solidaire : Karine Appy, 06 66 12 33 02, k.appy@ccfd-terresolidaire.org
