CIBJO presents "Impact on jewellery industry of new eu conflict minerals legislation and strategies for dealing with its requirements"

CIBJO is the World Jewellery Confederation that represents the interests of all the individuals, organizations and companies that rotate around the jewellery, precious stone and precious metal market. Established in 1926, it is the oldest international organization in the gold and jewellery sector. CIBJO recommends due reflection on the EU Parliament's recently approved "Mineral Conflict" legislation, which obliges importers of tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold to carry out strict checks to ensure that their suppliers are respecting their social responsibility obligations. The purpose of this legislation is to contribute to regulating and controlling the trade of four minerals (tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold), which could be financing armed conflicts or may be mined using forced labour. Larger producers will also be obliged to indicate how they intend to monitor their sources in order to ensure that the laws are respected. Moreover, during the negotiations, the Parliament managed to obtain the commitment that all large EU companies with more than 500 employees that purchase tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold for use in their products, are encouraged to provide the names of their suppliers in order to include them in an EU register. The European Commission should regularly review the effectiveness of the new law in terms of its impact on the territory and the European companies' level of respect. Furthermore, it may have to propose additional complementary measures should the companies' application of due diligence prove unsatisfactory. The companies should check that their activities conform to the new legislation, which will come into force in 2021, and ensure alignment to the obligations foreseen by the regulations, with particular reference to policy compatibility along the supply chain, with the OCSE due diligence guide. CIBJO is providing various services to help companies adapt to the new legislation.