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<p>The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Due Diligence
Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk
Areas (OECD DDG) sets out recommendations to help companies respect human rights and
avoid contributing to conflict through their mineral purchasing decisions and practices.
While not legally binding, the recommendations reflect the common position and political
commitments of OECD members and non-member adherents. Grievances against companies
registered in OECD member and adherent non-member countries that have allegedly failed
to meet the guidelines' standards can be taken to the OECD's National Contact Point
in the relevant country. When the European Union Conflict Minerals Regulation comes
into full force on 1 January 2021, the OECD Guidance will become mandatory for the
largest importers of tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold (3TG) into the European Union.</p><p>The
<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-rights-and-democracy-report-2018"
target="_blank">2018 Annual Human Rights</a> report included details of the Government's
work to support responsible mining practices in Colombia. On 6 February 2018 the OECD
published a report on due diligence in Colombia's gold supply chain. For Due Diligence
to be effective it needs to be implemented across the supply chain. To achieve this
it is essential to work with all actors in the supply chain including NGOs and the
private sector. We do this through the OECD's multi-stakeholder group linked for their
Implementation Programme for the DDG. In addition, the UK helped to found the European
Partnership for Responsible Minerals, a multi-stakeholder initiative which aims to
increase the supply and demand of responsibly sourced minerals. You can find a current
list of European Partnership for Responsible Minerals members at the following link:
<a href="https://europeanpartnership-responsibleminerals.eu/member" target="_blank">https://europeanpartnership-responsibleminerals.eu/member</a>.</p>
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