The Cobalt Industry Risk Assessment Framework: A joint statement

Global Witness and seven other non-governmental organisations have written to the Cobalt Institute regarding their proposed Cobalt Industry Risk Assessment Framework (CIRAF) on the understanding that no formal public consultation is to be held.

Given the major influence of Cobalt Institute (CI) members within the cobalt market, and the continued documentation of abuses and other supply chain red-flags within cobalt supply chains, the NGOs are urging the CI to ensure CIRAF adopts all elements of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as operationalised in the mining sector by the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas.

The letter sets out how failure to adopt this OECD standard, in full, would prevent CIRAF from being effective in identifying, preventing and addressing human rights risks and abuses in the cobalt supply chain, which will severely undermine its credibility.

Please click here for the full letter and supplementary case studies in English, French, Chinese and Spanish.

The letter was signed by the following groups: Afrewatch, Amnesty International, Enough Project, Global Witness, IMPACT, Observatoire Gouvernance et Paix, Rights and Accountability in Development and Save Act Mine.