Dear Member of the California Legislature,
The Enough Project and the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (“ICAR”), a coalition of human rights groups including Amnesty International, EarthRights International, Global Witness, Human Rights First and Human Rights Watch, strongly support passage of SB 861 by the California legislature. This landmark bill will prohibit California state contracts with companies that fail to comply with Federal reporting
requirements to combat the trade of minerals fueling conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Armed groups perpetrating the violence finance themselves through trade in four main minerals: tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold. It is these minerals that form the basis of metals used in diverse technological products sold worldwide, including mobile telephones, laptop computers, and digital video recorders. The illegal profits made from these minerals are just some of the consequences of the unregulated and unrelenting mining in this region. Other human rights abuses, including gender based violence such as sexual slavery, forced recruitment, forced prostitution and rape, have reached catastrophic proportions, with local health clinics in South Kivu reporting that, on average, 40 women are raped daily.
SB 861 would prohibit a state agency to contract with a company that has been found to be in violation of the federal act by final judgment or settlement, and the company has failed to remedy or cure the violation in a manner acceptable to the SEC. The bill has no known opposition, including the business community directly impacted by the provisions of the measure. In addition, the author, Senator Corbett, has chosen a trigger mechanism for state sanctions that does not take effect until a company has had an opportunity to fully exercise all appeals before the SEC.
SB 861 would thus not add any additional requirements outside of those already existing under Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act. California, through passing this bill, would be able to show leadership in protecting the rights of vulnerable populations by encouraging the development of verifiably conflict-free products. Please vote in support of SB 861.
Yours sincerely,
John C. Bradshaw, Executive Director – Enough Project
Amol Mehra, Coordinator – International Corporate Accountability
Roundtable
Support
The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (sponsor) Enough Project (sponsor)
Amnesty International
Boston Common Asset Management California Province of the Society of Jesus Calvert Asset Management
Catholic Health East
Christian Brothers Investment Services
Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, Fond du Lac, WI Dominican Sisters of San Rafael
EarthRights International
Global Witness Human Rights First Human Rights Watch
Individual, Starr King School for Ministry
Interfaith Center on Corporate Social Responsibility
Investor Environmental Health Network
Marianist Province of U.S.
Midwest Coalition for Responsible Investment Midwest Coalition for Responsible Investment PaxWorld Management LLC
Responsible Sourcing Network
Sister of the Holy Family
Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield, MA Social Responsibility Coordinator JOLT Spring Water Asset Management
The Social Equity Group
The Sustainable Group at Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge
Trillium Asset Management
Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment
US Social Investment Forum
Zevin Asset Management, LLC
The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (sponsor)
Enough! (sponsor) Amnesty International
Boston Common Asset Management California Province of the Society of Jesus Calvert Asset Management
Catholic Health East
Christian Brothers Investment Services
Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes, Fond du Lac, WI Dominican Sisters of San Rafael
EarthRights International
Global Witness
Human Rights First
Human Rights Watch
Individual, Starr King School for Ministry
Interfaith Center on Corporate Social Responsibility
Investor Environmental Health Network
Marianist Province of U.S.
Midwest Coalition for Responsible Investment Midwest Coalition for Responsible Investment PaxWorld Management LLC
Responsible Sourcing Network
Sister of the Holy Family
Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield, MA Social Responsibility Coordinator JOLT Spring Water Asset Management
The Social Equity Group
The Sustainable Group at Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge
Trillium Asset Management
Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment
US Social Investment Forum Zevin Asset Management, LLC California Church IMPACT
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault California National Organization for Women City of Berkeley
City of West Hollywood
Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking Consumer Federation of California Feminist Majority
Free the Slaves
Gavin Newsom, Lieutenant Governor
Howard Berman, Congressman
Stop Genocide Now
Union Pour La Democratie Et Le Progres Social
23 December 2011
On December 22, 2011, ICAR along with a number of leading human rights organizations, submitted a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) comment file for Section 1502 – the conflict minerals provision – of the Dodd-Frank Act. TheRead More…
09 December 2011
by Katie Shay In 1977, the United States took a powerful first step in curbing global corruption by passing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The law aims to remove the incentive for bribery, and does so by creating both criminalRead More…
02 November 2011
Dear Chairman and Commissioners, The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (“ICAR”) and Global Witness submit this comment to address issues pertaining to the rulemaking for Section 1502 that were raised in the Roundtable, held on October 18th, 2011, and to reiterateRead More…
26 October 2011
By Mark Taylor The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held consultations with industry and civil society last week on the conflict minerals provision (Section 1502) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. At a public roundtableRead More…
14 October 2011
Congratulations to California for being the first state to pass a conflict minerals bill! California’s SB 861 was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown this past weekend, and activists and those concerned with human rights should be proud. VoicesRead More…
