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U.N. Says Arms Imports Keep Congo at War
This is just too easy.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The key to ending Congo’s civil war and the plunder of its wealth is to implement human rights, property rights, rule of law, freedom of religion, speech and press break the ``vicious cycle’’ of arms shipments to the African nation, a U.N.-appointed panel said Tuesday. In its final report to the Security Council released Tuesday, the panel called on the international community to focus on halting the flow of illegal arms.
And they want a pony for Christmas.
The panel, following a three-year study, gave the council details on groups and individuals involved in arms trafficking, which is funded by the illegal sale of Congo’s diamonds, gold and other riches. But that information was not released, leaving it up to the council, which will discuss the report on Thursday, to decide whether to make it public. Some U.N. officials worried that identifying traffickers could jeopardize peace efforts.
It’s been a sterling success so far!
In October 2002, the panel accused criminal groups linked to the armies of Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Congo of plundering Congo’s riches and called on the Security Council to impose financial restrictions on 29 companies and 54 individuals. It also named over 70 companies in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America which it alleged had violated international standards for business ethics.
Europe, eh?
The panel said that 119 of the 157 parties it named last year responded to the report. Over the past year, its members met with almost all of them and resolved 61 cases.
Wonder how many shakedowns plea-bargins with donations to the UN were made?
But it said the cases against 18 companies weren’t ``resolved’’ - including international diamond giant De Beers and Avient Air and Das Air of Britain - but it didn’t give specifics on why.
Couldn’t track the diamonds?
The panel said it referred the cases to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ``for updating or further investigation.’’ Another 38 companies and individuals were referred to governments for investigation, some at the request of the governments themselves.
I’m sure the French prosecutor will get right on it.
The Security Council has imposed an arms embargo in areas of eastern Congo where fighting has intensified, and the panel proposed finding a way to implement it and track the arms supply chain from manufacturers to recipients and deter illegal trafficking.
Nah, that would mean chips in every gun and special grips coded to let only certain people ... oh wait, now I see where they’re going.
To help ensure that Congo’s resources are legally exploited, it called on the Congolese government to give ``serious consideration’’ to breaking up two ``grossly inefficient’’ state-owned mineral resource enterprises, the copper producer Gecamines and the diamond company MIBA.
"We have a special program known as Diamonds-for-Food’ that we believe will work!"
The panel also recommended the establishment ``a natural resources fund’’ In an effort to see that Congolese people share in the country’s riches. The fund should be given a portion of the proceeds from the legal exploitation of the country’s mineral wealth and timber resources for schools, hospitals, and other projects, it said.
Which will then be spent on UN-approved activities like per-diems for UN workers, sex workers, travel, wine, and housing overlooking the river ...
Posted by: Steve White 2003-10-29
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=20479