Event in Hamburg: Conflict minerals

15.06.2018: Conflict minerals and supply chain responsibility of companies - The regulatory approaches of the EU, US and China and their impact

Conflict minerals and supply chain responsibility of companies - The regulatory approaches of the EU, US and China and their impact

Date: Friday, June 15th 2018, 5:00 pm - around 7:45 pm

Location: GLS Bank, Düsternstraße 10, 20355 Hamburg (directions: www.gls.de/media/PDF/Broschueren/GLS_Bank/Standorte/weg_filiale_hamburg.pdf). The rooms are barrier-free.

Participation is free. Event languages are German and English (simultaneous translation is available).

Registration is requested (contact: annelie.evermann@weed-online.org

Smartphones, computers, cars and cans - every day we use products containing "conflict minerals": raw materials, whose mining and trade finance armed groups in conflict areas and cause grave human rights violations. Meanwhile, several countries - as the US, China and the EU, but also the affected countries themselves - adopted regulations regarding the four conflict minerals tantal, tin and tungsten and gold (the so-called "3TG”). Despite having the same objective of avoiding conflict minerals, they differ considerably.

What effects do these regulations really have? What additional measures are needed to improve the human rights situation in the mining countries? How do manufacturers of consumer goods containing 3TG like Apple or BMW react, but also suppliers such German metal producers? What role does China play as the "workbench of the world"?

At the evening event "Conflict Minerals and the Supply Chain Responsibility of Enterprises" we would like to highlight the existing regulatory approaches and their effects. We will discuss challenges, solutions and the consequences for the current implementation of the EU regulation in Germany with representatives from politics, civil society and the economy. Following the event, there will be an opportunity for talks and in-depth discussions.

Our speakers:

Dr. Claude Kabemba, Director of Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW). SARW is committed to human rights and the mobilization of mining communities, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Jannick Saegert, Managing Director of WINS Global Consult. He lived and worked in China from 2012 to 2017 and was involved in the development of China's Responsible Mineral Supply Chain Guidelines by the Chinese Mining Chamber of Commerce (CCCMC).

Dr. Roland Gerner is Senior Advisor at the Heraeus Holding and Senior Advisor at Fachvereinigung Edelmetalle. Previously, Dr. Gerner worked as Managing Director of Heraeus Precious Metals and in various management positions at Degussa in Germany and abroad.

Dr. Philip Schütte is a research associate at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), which will be responsible for verifying compliance with the EU Regulation in Germany. Mr. Schütte conducts research on mining and sustainability and is involved in the technical coordination of BGR's development cooperation in Central Africa. From 2010 to 2015, he led a project in Rwanda and Burundi to introduce a conflict risk certification system.

Johanna Sydow is a resource policy advisor at Germanwatch. Together with the AK Rohstoffe network, she advocated for binding regulations in the EU regulation on conflict minerals. In Ghana and Peru, she conducted research on the social impacts of large and small-scale mining in Ghana and Peru.

Annelie Evermann is a policy advisor for business and human rights at WEED - World Economy, Ecology & Development e.V. and has been working on topics like supply chain responsibility of IT manufacturers and the effects of voluntary and binding approaches.

Moderator: Anke Butscher