March 6, 2017
Dear Commissioner Piwowar,
I am writing to express my support for the continued implementation of the Conflict Minerals Rule. As a consumer, it is important to me that I am able to access key information about the companies I purchase from, including information about their conflict minerals sourcing practices.
I do not want my purchases to support violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Conflict Minerals Rule has made it easier for me to assess which companies are taking steps to ensure their products are not linked to this decades-long conflict. Contrary to the information on the SEC web site, the Rule does not threaten legitimate mining operators. Quite the contrary: according to an October 2016 study by the International Peace Information Service, 79 percent of miners at tin, tantalum, and tungsten mines surveyed in Congo now work at conflict-free mines, whereas nearly every mine in the Kivu provinces was controlled by a military group before creation of the Conflict Minerals Rule source: http://enoughproject.org/content/tell-sec-keep-us-conflict-minerals-rule-intact.
I urge you to keep the Conflict Minerals Rule fully intact, and to work with your fellow SEC commissioners to enforce the Rule moving forward.
Sincerely,
Joern Kersten