Mining sector players in the country over weekend underwent a two-day training on responsible mineral supply chains with an aim of helping them meet international market standards.Opening the workshop in Kigali on Friday, Evode Imena, the Minister of State in charge of Mining, said that in 2010, Rwanda adhered to the treaty of International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), which requires member states to export conflict-free minerals.Imena said that the treaty aims at promoting peace and security in the region by blocking rebel groups which mainly get funds from trading natural resources.

The workshop has been organised by Rwanda Natural Resources Authority in partnership with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), based in France.

OECD is an intergovernmental body of 34 countries worldwide which develops and implements international standards on responsible business conduct to address social, economic and environmental challenges to globalization, according to Tyler Gillard, the OECD Head of Sector Projects and Legal Advisor who is also one of the two trainers at the on-going workshop.Gillard said he was impressed with the work that Rwanda has done in the past five years as he first visited the country in 2010 but added that there is still room for improvement.

"This country has done a great work in implementing international standards on responsible business conduct. It has adopted regulations in line with the international standards and more on-going efforts are so impressive. However, there are still challenges in Rwanda as in the world over which we need to collectively address,” he said.Gillard said the workshop aimed at equipping the private sector with the knowledge on the OECD Due Diligence Guidance, enabling them to check their mineral supply chains and work with national authorities to ensure that the chains abide by demands of the international market but at the same time, respecting human rights, labour systems and avoid contributing to conflict through their mineral sourcing practices.Mining operators decried heavy costs of mineral certification procedures but Minister Imena said that the ministry is negotiating with the mineral certifiers on the reduction of certification chains which is expected to be attained next year.