Letter guidelines

We have provided links to two letter drafts for you to use.

Letter 1 (Government/MP's) is for your MP, but can be adapted by you to use to the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Leader of the Opposition, MEP, MSP, MLA or other politician.

You should write the name of the MP/Government member to whom you are writing, on the envelope and mail it to:
  House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.

They should write back to you. They should give you a clear answer to the questions you are asking (though this answer may be a standard response which they are using for a number of these letters).

They may also pass your letter on to a member of the government or a senior member of their party.

All of this is exactly what we are trying to achieve. The more we bring DR Congo to their attention, the better. MP's have a lot of issues to deal with. Their judgement of what is important is formed in part by the letters they receive.

If you receive a reply to your letter, please send WorldShare a copy by email or post to:

• WorldShare, FREEPOST DC829, Bawtry, Doncaster DN10 6BR.

You can adapt it for use to a supermarket or other shop/retailer, or to a manufacturing company.

Companies which manufacture things (and therefore need raw materials, particularly in heavy engineering or goods having an electronic or telecommunications or IT component) are most appropriate. But the questions the letter asks are important ones for all companies.

By changing the wording slightly, you can send it to your bank, for example, asking how they ensure that not of their investment or financial transactions are involved in these illegal trades.

You can send it to the Chairman or Managing Director of the company, or to your local branch manager, or to the Public Relations Department or Customer Service Department.

You are less likely to get an answer from a company. They do not have the same obligations as politicians. But if you do get an answer more than a polite acknowledgement, please let us see a copy.

Again, by raising the matter, you have made a small but important contribution to bringing this to the attention of the country.