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<p>During the debate on 13 May I said that we were encouraging companies and countries
to join the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. In the last two years,
I have met a range of UK companies to discuss the Voluntary Principles. Three of those
companies have joined or have applied to join the initiative. Officials, often working
with other member governments of the Voluntary Principles, participate in in-country
workshops, projects and other activity to support and encourage the participation
of new governments in the initiative. On 11 June I met the Justice Minister of Mozambique
to discuss the Voluntary Principles, and in April the Prime Minister and the Foreign
Secretary raised the Voluntary Principles with President Kikwete of Tanzania.</p><p>In
terms of responsible sourcing of minerals, officials participate in discussions with
UK industry, and more broadly with international partners and non-governmental organisations
to support responsible sourcing. The focus of these discussions is the OECD due diligence
guidance I referred to on 13 May. DfID have provided financial support through the
$90m World Bank- DFID ProMines project towards the implementation of the ICGLR Regional
Certification Mechanism, a publicly-available map of armed groups on mining sites
through the International Peace Information Service as well as traceability schemes
such as the ITRI tin supply chain initiative.</p>
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