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8 September 2015

New law in Hull prevents the purchase of materials from conflict zones

The British City of Hull is ensuring that council money does not go into extending some of the world’s most destructive conflicts after passing progressive new legislation that mandates all electronics purchased by the city be ethically sourced. The council is encouraging companies to follow their lead and is calling for an international certification system for minerals coming from central Africa.

Any procurement activities carried out by the city must “consider whether [electronic] products contain ‘conflict minerals’, and to the extent permissible in law, favour verifiably conflict-free products or companies making greater progress towards this goal” according to the new legislation. The council is specifically targeting gold, tin, tantalum and tungsten which have been harvested from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as in neighbouring countries experiencing protracted conflicts.

The legislation is a major victory for the group Conflict-Free Hull, which has been campaigning for Hull to become the first city in the UK to pass conflict-free procurement legislation. “I am delighted that the council has decided to support this movement as many of these illegally sourced minerals end up in our electronic products, directly connecting us as consumers to the conflict,” said Mike Riley, head of the campaign.

For more information, visit Supply Management.