EU lawmakers have backed tougher rules to limit the import of conflict minerals.<br /><br /> A European Parliament committee said it should be more difficult for military groups to finance their activities by selling precious minerals.<br /><br /> MEPs want a system of self-certification to be mandatory, rather than voluntary as the European Commission had proposed.<br /><br /> That would mean companies would have to prove that all resources throughout their supply chain were ‘conflict-free’.<br /><br /> The US already has legally binding requirements, which focus on the Great Lakes region in Africa.<br /><br /> The EU’s draft law may not just apply to sub-Saharan Africa.<br /><br /> For example it could apply in Colombia, where militias control some gold mining regions.
