Democratic Republic of the Congo: Illegal Resource Exploitation and Unregulated Weapons Flows

Mr. President,

The Security Council quite properly has devoted a great deal of time and attention to the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The UN Mission to the Congo, MONUC, is among the most expensive anywhere in the world. The terrible conflict continues to destabilize the African Great Lakes Region and the horrendous toll in human suffering is staggering. Millions of people have lost their lives as a result of this war, both those killed in violent clashes and those who have died due to the consequences of war: disease and famine. This bloody conflict has created millions of internally displaced people and refugees. As described for the Security Council last week by OCHA Deputy Carolyn McAskie, the humanitarian suffering is staggering. It is agonizing. This conflict must end.

In that regard, we must continue to support the various political efforts to end the warfare, including the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, the Pretoria Agreement, the Luanda Agreement and any other efforts that might constructively contribute to the path to peace.

Also, me must be mindful of the various things that ignited this conflict and that have prolonged it. Refugee flows, ethnic hatreds, regional insecurities and the lust for power and land are among the factors that have inflamed this terrible struggle that has imposed such an horrendous cost in human lives lost and humanitarian suffering endured. Another significant reason that this conflict has gone on so long and imposed such a terrible cost is greed, the quest for money from the illegal exploitation of resources from the Congo.

In this light, the United States is especially pleased by this open meeting of the Security Council to discuss the Panel of Experts report on the illegal exploitation of natural resources and other forms of wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (S/2002/1146).

The independent Panel of Experts has produced a valuable and detailed report, outlining issues of key concern to the United States.

My delegation is still studying the report. We are closely listening to the comments the Council is receiving today from interested governments on the report. We intend to factor them into our conclusions on how to move forward.

In that light, I would like to share a few of my government’s initial thoughts on the report.

We congratulate Ambassador Kassam and the other members of the Panel for identifying those suspected of involvement in exploiting the Congo’s natural resources: diamonds, copper and cobalt.

It takes great courage to speak the truth to those in power. The Panel has done that. We commend the Panel for this.

The report is convincing in the connection it makes between the money flows from the illegal exploitation and the continuation of the violence in the Great Lakes Region. The illegal exploitation threatens to derail the progress achieved in the peace process. This cannot be allowed to happen. Greed to exploit the DRC must end.

Corruption thrives in darkness. It takes root behind doors closed to public inspection and media scrutiny. The naming of those involved and the description of how they work is, in and of itself, a most valuable tool. It puts a spotlight on this corruption for the public to see. Where the public is free to express its outrage and concern, the Panel’s report gives the public the tools to pressure governments in the region to act to stop this looting. As an example of this, we note the extensive discussion of the report and its finding in the newspapers and other media in the DRC. The Panel’s conclusions and its naming of government officials possibly involved in corruption achieved a primary goal -- public scrutiny and debate.

This, in turn, has led the DRC Attorney General to open investigations into each of the government and military officials named in the report. This was certainly not an easy step to take for the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

We commend the Government of the DRC. We contrast its actions to the categorical denials many other governments whose officials are named in the report.

It is the responsibility of all those states whose officials, military leaders or business people are named to take action to fully address the allegations made. This responsibility is especially the burden of the governments the Panel has identified as having the most ties to those carrying out this exploitation -- Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Where states have named special investigators or created special commissions there must be a commitment to see those investigations to the end, no matter where the trail of corruption may lead. Uganda, for example, cannot assume the creation of a Commission to investigate these allegations is enough. The Panel has pointed out the need for that Commission to have real authority to investigate, obtain evidence, and follow up where the trails lead.

Mr. President,

The responsibility of governments to respond to the Panel’s report does not just fall on the states in the region, however. The United States Government notes with concern that nine American companies have been identified in the Panel’s report.

The United States Government will look into the allegations against these companies and take appropriate measures. We will not turn a blind eye to these activities.

Also the United States will continue to support work and provide leadership to efforts to strengthen and extend the Kimberly Process intended to prevent African warlords from fueling their conflicts through blood diamonds, including in the DRC. Yesterday and today there are meetings in Interlaken, Switzerland to approve new rules intended to insure that diamonds will be certified as untainted. The goal is to prevent illicit diamonds from being used to pay for the weapons used in war throughout Africa, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The United States government wants to see that legally binding rules for a diamond certification process are in place by January 1st.

Mr. President,

We encourage all UN members -- whether named in the report or not -- to respond to the report’s findings by seeking ways to encourage transparent business practices that will benefit, first and foremost, the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We also encourage states to investigate and prosecute the illegal activities highlighted in the Panel’s report and to cooperate with other states in such investigations.

My delegation believes regional organizations, such as the African Union, the East African Community, and the Southern African Development Community should use their influence to pressure the parties involved to end the patterns of exploitation.

The Experts Panel’s report clearly demonstrates that further investigations are warranted, especially since the problems posed by illegal resource exploitation and unregulated weapons flows are found not only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but also in a number of other states in Africa.

Thank you, Mr. President.