The UN Security Council was to meet on Thursday to discuss a report on the booming trade in African diamonds and minerals which is continuing to finance what may be the deadliest conflict since World War II.
The civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is believed to have cost the lives of around 2,5-million people, and the report found that the illegal trade has financed a steady supply of arms shipments for the nation.
Activist groups have asked the council to investigate multinational firms accused of profiteering from the war, but diplomats said it was unlikely the UN’s main peace and security organ would take that step.
The council was to discuss how to handle the final report wrapping up a three-year study by a panel that last year disclosed more than 150 firms, groups and individuals believed to be fanning the civil war.
Some were said to have helped fund the war, directly or indirectly, while others were accused of violating voluntary business ethics related to trade in conflict zones.
The panel asked many of those listed to explain how their dealings contributed to the bloodshed, said the report, adding that more than 60 of the cases were “resolved.”
But more than a dozen rejected the claims, including international diamond giant De Beers.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that De Beers had applied to return to the DRC after it officially stopped buying there four years ago in order to distance itself from the trade in so-called blood or conflict diamonds.
Diamonds are just a part of DRC’s wealth of resources; it also boasts of rich gold fields, the world’s largest reserves of cobalt and specialised minerals such as coltan, used in mobile phones.
The panel, which began issuing reports in 2001, has claimed that in addition to the multinational firms, Rwanda and Uganda have also plundered the resources and helped fuel the war, which began in 1998.
“The illegal exploitation of resources remains one of the main sources of finance to groups trying to perpetuate the conflict,” the report said.
A shaky peace process has been under way since April but the killing has continued despite the presence of UN peacekeepers and an arms embargo put in place by the Security Council.
The report says the DRC government should consider breaking up two state-run copper and diamond companies, while a group of non-governmental organisations issued a statement in New York on Tuesday calling for additional steps.
The council “can no longer ignore clear evidence linking the exploitation of resources to the war in the Congo,” said the group, which includes Human Rights Watch and Oxfam International.
“It must insist that member states hold the companies and individuals involved to account, including companies based in Western countries. Business must demonstrate its commitment to change the way it operates in conflict situations,” the group said. – AFP