Europe’s nearly half a billion consumers are driving a rising global demand for minerals such as tungsten, tantalum, and gold.
These minerals, used in many consumer products such as phones and cars, are fought over by violent armed groups in resource-rich parts of Africa and Latin America, exacting a huge cost on development and human rights. Yet there is currently no law in place to make European companies source responsibly, or prevent them from contributing to this deadly trade.
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Andrew Rettman is EUobserver's foreign editor, writing about foreign and security issues since 2005. He is Polish, but grew up in the UK, and lives in Brussels. He has also written for The Guardian, The Times of London, and Intelligence Online.