The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the impact of the new regulation on the responsible sourcing of the 3T and gold minerals and its supporting measures from the outlook of the European civil society and representatives from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Colombia.
We attended the “European Union (EU) regulation on responsible mineral sourcing and supporting measures: opinions of the civil society of producer countries” workshop in Brussels, Belgium on April 29 and 30. During the event, discussion sessions were held by the civil society on the subject of the artisanal and small-scale mining sector in the countries where this EU regulation will impact mining production.
Furthermore, the challenges and opportunities presented by this new law, as well as the financing measures that facilitate its implementation were given special attention. The objective of the civil society was to highlight certain key messages to the European Commission and the supporting instruments, and to the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM) in particular. This was discussed by the official guests from the EU, such as the special EU envoy in the region of the great lakes, a European parliament deputy who was at the center of the discussion regarding the regulation, and a representative from the Directorate-General for Trade (DG Trade).
Cristian Morales, president of Coodmilla, together with Yves Bertran, director of the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), were present in their capacities as representatives of ARM and EPRM – an organization in which ARM is a board member.
During the event, Cristian had the opportunity to explain the difficulties faced by his group in Nariño, Colombia and talked about the opportunities brought about by the implementation of the CRAFT code. He showed the accomplishments attained in his community and the artisanal and small-scale mining organizations (ASMO) thanks to the Fairmined certification. Yves introduced the CRAFT code as an EPRM-funded support tool and presented its main features.