December 15, 2010
Meridith Cross
Director, Division of Corporate Finance
Securities and Exchange Commission
Dear Ms. Cross and all of the SEC:
It has come to my attention that you are being lobbied by the electronics industry for a very weak enforcement of the Dodd-Frank Title XV amendment to the reform package for tracking, disclosure, and audit purposes.
I am contacting you to ask you to use your voice and position with the United States government not to give in to the pressures the industries are putting on you for the sake of over six million deaths Congolese to date, countless rapes and mutilations, and atrocities that the Congolese citizens experience on a day to day basis. Millions of people and activists are voicing their opinions daily against the conflict of minerals. I ask you to help stop fueling the bloodbath the Congolese nation indures daily.
As an activist, a member of "Outcry for Congo," "A thousand Sisters," and "Women for Women International," I know there are thousands of people that are compassionate and caring people who are demanding a just and concrete plan for the wealth of elements that are so rich in the Congo. Capital Hill heard our cry last week.
We do not want nor will we buy products tainted with Congolese blood. Hewlett-Packard estimated the the cost for the audits required to guarantee and document all minerals in their products was only "one penny", $.01 per product. One cent per product can not be a burden to any Corporate Electronic company, nor a burden on any consumer in our global population.
$.01 cent for a life of a human being? Please act on the basis of humanity as a whole. It is the only right thing to do.
Thank you for your consideration. I will be carefully following this action very closely. I trust you will be brave enough to stand up and do what is right for the Congolese people, as well as, people around the globe.
Sincerely,
Katherine Yarges