Good People,
See Explainers why Corporate Pillage is a War Crime...............and this means, to stop Corporate Special Business interest including some international NGOs and Foundations who sneakily sponsored crimes in Congo with the rest of Africa, their times is up and they too must answer charges and face justice individually or collectively.
Yeah Yeah Yeah, did anyone notice this, that after defeat of Tutsi's M23, Kagame disappeared in thin air pondering and most likely engaging on under-current. The Swahili for "Mambo Bado" refer, where there is smoke, there is fire...........that, he better be more worried because, "The Terminator" Commander and author of M23 Mr. Bosco Ntaganda is at the ICC Hague waiting for the second in Command Sultani Makenga who took over leadership of M23 after Bosco is also a wanted man by Congolese authorities for committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in DRC, but is in waiting in Uganda to join Bosco at the ICC Hague.........and this is something that will give both Kagame and Museveni sleepless nights, more or so after constant denial that he Kagame is not involved in financing and providing financial and logistic support to M23 all along.
Good People, in this world, there is time for everything, Good or Bad………It was predicted long ago………..So, watch what you choose and ask for in life because, if you choose and ask for Good, that is what you shall ultimately get; and if you ask for bad, that is what shall become on your way. But I believe that majority of people in the world will go in search for peace and happiness which belong to being and doing good, and for them, is the Kingdom of God. What a beautiful world it will be, caring and sharing for one another in a meaningful way..........
………..and this is very important, that, DR Congo must commit to stamp out all other remaining factionaries to include the FDLR as they Congo Army promised earlier. This must be void of the game of politics as usual. It shall requires a universal attention to maintaining to stamp out all form of guerilla and the policy must guarantee no matter who the "tribe" or the Corporate Special Business Interest engaged in financing or perpetrating violence, must face legal justice squarely.
Everyone in the world is watching and DR Congo Army has the mandate to stop and extinguish all irregular military operations on their territory no matter whose interest the forces are.
Cheers !!!
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com/
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com/
Voice of America (Washington, DC)
Congo-Kinshasa: Envoy 'Excited' About Peace Deal With M23
By Peter Clottey, 10 November 2013
A top Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) envoy says Congolese are excited about the prospects of peace following reports the government in Kinshasa will sign a peace deal with M23 rebels on Monday.
Bene M'Poko, DRC's ambassador to South Africa, says the administration also plans to reinforce security along its borders to protect unarmed civilians from the attacks by other armed groups. He attributed the country's conflict to those who want to keep the DRC from benefiting from its vast natural resources.
"We have had this war," said M'Poko, "because of people who [want] to loot our resources. They were intent on destabilizing Congo so while we are busy fighting, they are looting [our] resources." Resources, he added, that "would benefit the people of Congo, the continent and even the world because as you know the region is rich in rare [earth] minerals, rich in oil rich in tourism and rich in everything."
He said Congo's military should be able to guard the country's porous borders, which allow armed groups to enter - often at will - from neighboring countries.
"The Congolese army is matured now. What was lacking was an effective command structure so we have restructured the command structure. So with now a matured Congolese army reorganized, restructured, we are able to protect our borders," said M'Poko. "[It's] our duty to protect our borders so nobody will come in to destabilize us again. We are saying enough is enough and we have to take responsibility to protect our people."
Agreement
Both the DRC government and the rebel M23 say they will sign a peace deal in Uganda's capital, Kampala Monday following months of negotiations.
M'Poko outlined its significance.
"It means a lot to the Congolese people, to the government of Congo and to the Africans and to the international community because everybody has invested so heavily in reaching this peace agreement," said M'Poko. "We are very excited about it because it is about time we ended that war, that nonsense, so that we can concentrate on the business of developing our region."
The pact follows the M23 group's announcement that they were laying down their arms, after military forces drove them from their remaining strongholds. It also comes after African heads of state and government called for an end in the DRC conflict following their meeting in South Africa's capital, Pretoria.
Ambassador M'Poko said the administration in Kinshasa is working with international aid groups including the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) to assist victims who were displaced during the conflict.
"Since we will be considered a post-conflict country, [it] means that we need to mobilize humanitarian assistance." said M'Poko.
Bene M'Poko, DRC's ambassador to South Africa, says the administration also plans to reinforce security along its borders to protect unarmed civilians from the attacks by other armed groups. He attributed the country's conflict to those who want to keep the DRC from benefiting from its vast natural resources.
"We have had this war," said M'Poko, "because of people who [want] to loot our resources. They were intent on destabilizing Congo so while we are busy fighting, they are looting [our] resources." Resources, he added, that "would benefit the people of Congo, the continent and even the world because as you know the region is rich in rare [earth] minerals, rich in oil rich in tourism and rich in everything."
He said Congo's military should be able to guard the country's porous borders, which allow armed groups to enter - often at will - from neighboring countries.
"The Congolese army is matured now. What was lacking was an effective command structure so we have restructured the command structure. So with now a matured Congolese army reorganized, restructured, we are able to protect our borders," said M'Poko. "[It's] our duty to protect our borders so nobody will come in to destabilize us again. We are saying enough is enough and we have to take responsibility to protect our people."
Agreement
Both the DRC government and the rebel M23 say they will sign a peace deal in Uganda's capital, Kampala Monday following months of negotiations.
M'Poko outlined its significance.
"It means a lot to the Congolese people, to the government of Congo and to the Africans and to the international community because everybody has invested so heavily in reaching this peace agreement," said M'Poko. "We are very excited about it because it is about time we ended that war, that nonsense, so that we can concentrate on the business of developing our region."
The pact follows the M23 group's announcement that they were laying down their arms, after military forces drove them from their remaining strongholds. It also comes after African heads of state and government called for an end in the DRC conflict following their meeting in South Africa's capital, Pretoria.
Ambassador M'Poko said the administration in Kinshasa is working with international aid groups including the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) to assist victims who were displaced during the conflict.
"Since we will be considered a post-conflict country, [it] means that we need to mobilize humanitarian assistance." said M'Poko.
Rwanda silent after defeat of DR Congo's M23 rebels
By Helen Vesperini, Aude Genet November 9, 2013 7:33 PM
Nairobi (AFP) - Rwanda, under intense international pressure over its alleged covert aid to M23 rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has maintained total silence since the group's defeat.
The March 23 Movement (M23) announced this week it was ending its 18-month insurgency after suffering a resounding rout at the hands of the Congolese army with key backing from a special UN intervention brigade.
The rebels are now under pressure to sign a formal peace deal on Monday in Uganda, to where most of its fighters have fled. Scores of wounded fighters have also fled to Rwanda.
UN experts have accused Uganda and in particular Rwanda of backing the rebels, and despite angry denials, officials in Kigali have been clearly anxious over the turn of events.
On the eve of M23's formal surrender, Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo warned in a radio interview that Kigali's arch-foe, the DRC-based Rwandan Hutu rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), were moving into positions abandoned by the M23.
View gallery."
This picture taken on November 30, 2012 shows M23 rebels withdrawing through the hills having left t …
"Our intelligence reports indicate that FDLR is coming close to the Rwandan border as M23 is chased out of the territory," she said on local radio KFM on Monday.
The FDLR, one of a myriad of rebel outfits operating in the Kivu region, is a descendant of Rwandan Hutu extremist groups that carried out the 1994 genocide, during which some 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, were murdered while the world stood by.
Kigali's minority Tutsi-led government sees them as a continuing threat to Rwanda's security, which goes some way to explaining their alleged support for the M23 -- a Tutsi-dominated outfit.
Internal differences
Rwanda's recent silence contrasts conspicuously with its threats of retaliation made just a couple of weeks earlier when shells allegedly fired by the DR Congo army hit its territory, raising fears that the conflict could widen.
View gallery."
Jeeps full of M23 rebels drive towards the town of Sake in the east of the Democratic Republic of th …
Rwanda's first venture into the former Zaire came in 1996, aimed at preventing the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide from re-arming. That drew little or no criticism at the time -- partly because of Western guilt over failing the stop the genocide.
Its subsequent ventures into its mineral-rich neighbour, starting with the second Congo war in 1998, have been gradually less popular, but it was its backing for the M23 rebels, who are accused of rights abuses including rape and recruiting child soldiers, that sparked a fierce diplomatic backlash.
In the 18 months of M23's existence, Rwanda has come in for criticism from even its most loyal supporters: foreign capitals including Washington, London, The Hague, Berlin and Stockholm suspended or cut some of their bilateral support to Kigali, which they have otherwise championed for its remarkable post-genocide economic recovery.
"Rwanda overplayed its hand in the M23 gamble," said Kris Berwouts, an independent analyst on conflict and security in the Great Lakes region.
"The reaction of Rwanda's traditional partners went way beyond its (Rwanda's) worst fears... it was absolutely clear that its future moves and actions would be looked upon with great suspicion," he said.
View gallery."
Rwanda President Paul Kagame listens to proceedings during the International Conference on the Great …
Analysts have largely attributed the M23's humiliating defeat to intense pressure applied by the UN Security Council and particularly the United States on Rwanda, ensuring that Kigali could not afford to bail out the rebels, whose military leader Sultani Makenga is under UN and US sanctions.
Rwanda "had no choice" but to stand down amid the latest fighting, another regional expert told AFP.
Analysts also cited differences of opinion within Kigali's power structure -- centred around strongman and President Paul Kagame, who has dominated the country since his then-rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front ended the genocide in 1994.
Some figures in Kigali, analysts say, want to maintain a strategic presence in North Kivu -- for both security and economic reasons -- while others think it is no longer worth it.
It now remains to be seen how much enthusiasm the UN intervention brigade will put into going after the FDLR and other armed groups that terrorise civilians -- seen as the key next step in efforts to put an end to two decades of war and regional meddling in the region.
COMMENTS:
Craig Eschrich3 hours ago
With any luck the DR Congo will have the guts and the brains to stamp on the FDLR as well. This should not be a game of politics as usual. It requires universal attention to maintaining a no guerilla policy no matter who the "tribe" is that is perpetrating the violence. Everyone is watching and DR Congo has nothing to gain by stopping military operations no matter who the force is that operates on their territory.
Serge5 hours ago
Rwanda got no intelligence Agency, they have gossipers, but no Agency. They might want to think they do, but they don't.
SwineFlew25 hours ago
Rwanda was engulfed in a genocide in the mid-1990s, but now one of the fastest growing economies
Congo can be like that soon. But Rwanda has been accused of interfering into Congo affairs, well, weakness is provocative, that's why Rwanda has done that to Congo. When Congo pulls itself up, nobody can mess up Congo, any more.
Congo can be like that soon. But Rwanda has been accused of interfering into Congo affairs, well, weakness is provocative, that's why Rwanda has done that to Congo. When Congo pulls itself up, nobody can mess up Congo, any more.
JOHN B.16 hours ago
Both sides in Rwanda stop killing the Wild Animals
Sha_booby15 hours ago
Tarzan needs to summon the elephant heard to stampede and solve this problem.
Johnny5 hours ago
What is Rwanda supposed to say?
MilkyWay12 hours ago
It is a silence of shame! Remember the saying: "It's only when the tide goes out that you learn who's been swimming naked."
john 15 hours ago
Just don't kill the actual gorillas. We still love them.
=============================
Sunday, November 10, 2013
=============================
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Militias raising cash for conflicts through poaching, says lobby
An elephant killed by poachers for its ivory. Tanzania's long-time wildlife training college said on Tuesday it has established an ultra-modern forensic lab that can be used for training as well as addressing rampant poaching. PHOTO/FILE
Poaching is on the rise in Kenya because of prevalent conflicts and the presence of militia groups in the region, a report by a lobby shows.
A report by the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) says continual conflicts and presence of organised gangs have been fuelling “environmental crime” because it is the easiest way to fund their activities.
“Illegal trade and poaching of wildlife and plants alone is estimated to be worth $5–20 billion annually, and this money is often used to help finance conflicts,” the report, Elephants in the Dust; the African elephant crisis notes in part.
“Environmental crime is particularly attractive to these groups when compared with other forms of criminal activity because of its high profit margin coupled with a low probability of being caught and convicted.”
The report does not mention specific gangs in Kenya, but notes that the country through the port of Mombasa is often a conduit for ivory from elephants killed in conflict areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Africa Republic and Sudan.
These countries also suffer from other environmental crime such as logging, illegal mining, dumping of toxic waste and illegal fishing to finance activities of militia groups.
Corruption
Although Kenya has put in place sufficient laws against organised crime, EITIS observes that the lure of the profits and the fact that one could easily walk away by bribing officials at the port, immigration or the police inspires continued poaching.
EITIS further reports that when authorities fail to block transportation of illegal ivory, the money obtained from its sales, often abroad to lucrative markets in China, Thailand and other Far East countries, is used to “improve” poaching by use of new equipment.
The equipment includes sophisticated guns, killing animals from the air by use of choppers, and bribing officials. It makes it difficult to guard the wild animals, the report argues.
“The involvement of organised crime, influx of arms and the likelihood of encountering combat-hardened members of the military or militias pose a great risk to park rangers,”
The US recently announced a $3 million (Sh255 million) sponsorship to Kenya to fight poaching and trafficking.
The cash will also help Kenya to build institutions to fight the vice that has threatened to eliminate elephants and rhinos.
Despite the move, Kenya’s laws are still too lenient to those found in possession of illegal trophies. For example, most of those recently found with illegal ivory have been fined just Sh30,000 yet a kilo of ivory goes for Sh40, 000 in the black market.
Between 2009 and 2011, 34 large-scale ivory seizures were recorded in Kenya. The number has since risen. The report recommends retraining of park rangers to deal with the threat.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Ivory smuggling rings use briefcase companies to escape police dragnets
KWS officer Simon Gitau inspects ivory that was seized in January at Mombasa in transit to Indonesia. Failure by Kenya and seven other countries to tame smuggling could lead to sanctions. Photo/FILE NATION MEDIA GROUP
An international poaching and ivory smuggling syndicate in the region is using shell import and export firms, and clearing and forwarding companies in Kenya and Uganda to facilitate their illicit trade, investigations indicate.
A search at the registrar of companies in Uganda has revealed that Gisenya Freight Limited, Comos Freightnal Limited, which have been linked to more than 10 tonnes of ivory intercepted at the Port of Mombasa, do not exist in the database of the Uganda Registration Service Bureau.
And the files of Uwezo Enterprises Ltd and Three Ways Freighters Ltd, both of Mombasa, are also not in the records of Kenya’s Registrar of Companies— explaining why no arrests have been made in connection with the multi-million ivory seized four months ago.
Questions are now being raised as to how the huge ivory consignments, which originated from Uganda, were cleared by the country’s revenue authority without verification of the cargo and the firms involved.
Decorative ivory stolen from State House in Mombasa was found in the consignment that originated from Uganda— raising fears that influential personalities in Kenya and Uganda are behind the illegal business.
In Kenya, two influential Coast businessmen, a central Kenya MP and a Rift Valley governor have been linked to the runaway poaching and ivory smuggling.
Police officers, Kenya Wildlife Service and Kenya Revenue Authority officials conversant with investigations into the matter say names of the three have featured in the banned trade.
The three are reportedly part of an international ivory smuggling ring operating in the country. They have been linked to containers full of ivory intercepted at the Port of Mombasa in August and September.
In Kampala, Mr Moses Olinga, a warden in charge of law enforcement at Uganda Wildlife Authority, says Uganda is among the gang of eight in Africa where ivory trafficking takes place.
He says the smugglers are ahead of the game— they have built a very large network with criminal syndicates, which allows them to pass through the country undetected and even have passports, which makes it hard to track them.
“Preliminary investigations indicate that most of the ivory comes from the neighbouring countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and Burundi. We are now testing DNA samples of the ivory to help us identity their exact origin.” He says the destination countries are Malaysia, Turkey, China, Vietnam and Japan.
Combating poaching, Mr Olinga says, needs concerted efforts from all sectors, especially security at border points and clearing agents at the airport.
“Ivory from Entebbe Airport is cleared and directly taken to the aircraft. Clearing agents are arrested but later released, how can we then fight poaching,”
According to Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), international organised crime syndicates are behind the killing of elephants and rhinos in Kenya and other African countries.
Cites says the gangs use the latest technology and have collaborators among local communities and security agencies.
Investigations have revealed that the international ring has devised ingenious ways of transporting their loot to evade detection by security agencies.
Their tricks include declaring containers ferrying the smuggled ivory as carrying either timber, fruits, electronics, tyres or other assorted goods.
Most of the ivory intercepted in Asia is being traced to the ports of Dar-es-Salaam and Mombasa.
Wildlife experts and scientists estimate that two elephants are killed per day in Kenya — the highest number in recent times. The statistics have sparked outrage among wildlife conservationists and raised fears the animals could become extinct.
KWS says there has been an upsurge in poaching in the last five years with more than 360 elephants killed last year compared to only 45 in 2007.
Additional reporting by FLAVIA LANYERO In Kampala
flanyero@ug.nationmdia.com
flanyero@ug.nationmdia.com
===============================
Hirondelle News Agency (Lausanne)
Congo-Kinshasa: Swiss Firm Suspected of Complicity in DRC War Crimes
5 November 2013
Photo: Guy Oliver/IRIN
Artisanal gold miners form human chains to excavate near Iga-Barrière, about 25km east of Bunia
Arusha — Swiss federal authorities have launched an investigation into Swiss company Argor-Heraeus for suspected complicity in war crimes, in connection with the laundering of three tons of gold pillaged in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in 2004, Swiss newspaper Tribune de Genève reported Tuesday.
This comes after Swiss NGO Track Impunity Always (TRIAL) filed a complaint against the company to the Swiss authorities. "We have examined this complaint and we have decided to open a criminal investigation into the company for suspected money laundering linked to a war crime and complicity in a war crime," the newspaper quotes a federal government spokesperson as saying. Argor-Heraeus has denied the allegations.
TRIAL's complaint is based notably on 2004-2005 investigations into the DRC-sourced gold supply chain by a UN Group of Experts, under a mandate to monitor the arms embargo on the country. All the African businesses and businessmen implicated were severely sanctioned by the UN Security Council, while Western businesses and businessmen were not, despite the Experts' recommendations, TRIAL notes. According to TRIAL, the FNI armed group in northern DRC continued to exploit a gold concession it seized to finance its operations and buy arms, despite the UN arms embargo.
A large part of this gold was sold to intermediaries who in turn sold it to precious metals refiner Argor-Heraeus. "Argor-Heraeus SA could not have been unaware of the criminal origin of the gold," says TRIAL. The company has strongly rejected the allegations, saying the 2005 UN investigation cleared its name and concluded it was not implicated either directly or indirectly in this affair.
Acts of pillage committed during armed conflict may constitute war crimes. Ordering or encouraging such pillage in any way is also a crime under international criminal law. Thus pillage was one of the war crimes for which the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) this year convicted former Liberian president Charles Taylor and sentenced him to 50 years in jail. Taylor was found guilty of aiding and abetting rebels in Sierra Leone, who pillaged natural resources, among their numerous other crimes. ER/ JC
===========================
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (Johannesburg)
Congo-Kinshasa: Swiss Firm Alleged to Have Laundered Pillaged DRC Gold
By Richard Lee, 4 November 2013On 1 November 2013, TRIAL (Track Impunity Always) filed a criminal complaint to the Swiss Federal Prosecutor against the Swiss precious metals refinery Argor-Heraeus SA for allegedly laundering gold pillaged from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
With the evidence in its possession, the Swiss anti-impunity NGO suspects that the refinery may have committed 'aggravated laundering' (under article 305bis of the Swiss Penal Code) between 2004-2005 when it may have refined almost 3 tons of gold from the DRC, the sale of which contributed to financing the operations of an unlawful armed group - the Front des Nationalistes et Intégrationnistes (FNI) - in a brutal conflict.
According to TRIAL, the refinery knew - or should have assumed - that the gold resulted from pillage, which is a war crime.
Therefore, TRIAL requests law enforcement authorities to open an investigation and to establish whether an offense has been committed, and if so, to sanction the company.
"It is unacceptable that pillaged raw materials that are feeding violence in a brutal and horrific war should be refined and prepared for marketing in Switzerland, with total impunity," said Philip Grant, Director of TRIAL.
"These practices run contrary to law, but without a clear signal from law enforcement authorities, they will continue. This complaint should serve as a reminder that corporations are subject to the law and must also be held accountable."
The complaint follows investigations into the DRC-sourced gold supply chain that were conducted in the years 2004-2005 by the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, pursuant to its mandate to monitor the arms embargo on the country.
All of the African businesses and businessmen implicated in this affair were severely sanctioned by the UN Security Council, while Western businesses and businessmen were not, notwithstanding recommendations from the Group of Experts that all participants in the illegal supply chain be sanctioned.
In light of the evidence obtained up to 2012 by Kathi Lynn Austin - a former investigator in the UN Group of Experts - TRIAL believes that Argor-Heraeus SA could not have been unaware of the criminal origin of the gold.
"Even if Argor-Heraeus SA was able at the time to escape UN sanctions under the embargo, that does not mean that it did not violate Swiss law," said Bénédict De Moerloose, the TRIAL lawyer in charge of the case.
"For a long time we have been investigating the activities of Argor-Heraeus SA during the years 2004-2005, with regard to Swiss law, in particular regarding money laundering," he added.
Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (Johannesburg)
Congo-Kinshasa: Swiss Firm Alleged to Have Laundered Pillaged DRC Gold
By Richard Lee, 4 November 2013
analysis
Photo: Guy Oliver/IRIN
Artisanal gold miners form human chains to excavate near Iga-Barrière, about 25km east of Bunia
With the evidence in its possession, the Swiss anti-impunity NGO suspects that the refinery may have committed 'aggravated laundering' (under article 305bis of the Swiss Penal Code) between 2004-2005 when it may have refined almost 3 tons of gold from the DRC, the sale of which contributed to financing the operations of an unlawful armed group - the Front des Nationalistes et Intégrationnistes (FNI) - in a brutal conflict.
According to TRIAL, the refinery knew - or should have assumed - that the gold resulted from pillage, which is a war crime.
Therefore, TRIAL requests law enforcement authorities to open an investigation and to establish whether an offense has been committed, and if so, to sanction the company.
"It is unacceptable that pillaged raw materials that are feeding violence in a brutal and horrific war should be refined and prepared for marketing in Switzerland, with total impunity," said Philip Grant, Director of TRIAL.
"These practices run contrary to law, but without a clear signal from law enforcement authorities, they will continue. This complaint should serve as a reminder that corporations are subject to the law and must also be held accountable."
The complaint follows investigations into the DRC-sourced gold supply chain that were conducted in the years 2004-2005 by the United Nations Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, pursuant to its mandate to monitor the arms embargo on the country.
All of the African businesses and businessmen implicated in this affair were severely sanctioned by the UN Security Council, while Western businesses and businessmen were not, notwithstanding recommendations from the Group of Experts that all participants in the illegal supply chain be sanctioned.
In light of the evidence obtained up to 2012 by Kathi Lynn Austin - a former investigator in the UN Group of Experts - TRIAL believes that Argor-Heraeus SA could not have been unaware of the criminal origin of the gold.
"Even if Argor-Heraeus SA was able at the time to escape UN sanctions under the embargo, that does not mean that it did not violate Swiss law," said Bénédict De Moerloose, the TRIAL lawyer in charge of the case.
"For a long time we have been investigating the activities of Argor-Heraeus SA during the years 2004-2005, with regard to Swiss law, in particular regarding money laundering," he added.
"Today, thanks to newly obtained evidence, our suspicions are sufficiently well grounded for us to refer the matter to the international criminal law department of the Federal Prosecutor's office. It is now for them to determine if Argor-Heraeus SA should be criminally prosecuted for the alleged conduct."
The FNI is an unlawful armed group that began operating in 2002 in northeastern DRC, seizing control of the city of Mongbwalu in Ituri district and of a gold concession named 'Concession 40'. In violation of the embargo imposed by the UN Security Council in 2003, the FNI exploited this concession to finance its operations and buy arms.
The FNI is widely accused of massacres, systematic violence against the civilian population of Ituri, sexual violence, pillage, and recruiting child soldiers.
With the collaboration and air transport provided by a local businessman, Dr Kisoni Kambale, a large portion of the gold was sold in Uganda to a company called Ugandan Commercial Impex Ltd. (UCI).
This company resold the gold to a buyer named Hussar Limited, a Jersey, Channel Islands company, and its London affiliate, Hussar Services Limited, which asked the Swiss company Argor-Heraeus SA to refine the gold, in the period between July 2004 and June 2005. The refined gold ingots were then sold to banking institutions.
In addition to the specific complaint against Argor-Heraeus SA, TRIAL has also launched a parallel Stop-Pillage Campaign in partnership with the Conflict Awareness Project (an NGO started by Kathi Lynn Austin), and the Open Society Justice Initiative.
The Stop-Pillage Campaign seeks to raise public awareness in Switzerland and abroad regarding the impact of the pillaging of raw materials, its link to armed conflict, and the responsibility of all actors in the supply chain.
The NGOs call for a judicial response to this problem targeting every link in the chain, no matter in which country.
Documentation:
Stop Pillage campaign - information kit
Stop Pillage press release (ENG)
Conflict Awareness Project
Open Society Justice Initiative
Why pillage is a war crime
===================================
Why Corporate Pillage Is a War Crime
Last Updated: November 2013Why Corporate Pillage Is a War Crime
About this Image
Men mine for gold in Beni, Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo. Access to gold mining is one of the reasons for the ongoing conflict in the eastern regions of the country. Most of these artisan miners are combatants, who control these mineral-rich areas and profit from its exploitation. The majority of the gold mined in this region leaves the DRC illegally and is sent to Uganda.
Photo Credit: © Marcus Bleasdale/VII Photo
So pillage is a war crime?
The laws of war, also known as international humanitarian law, have long protected property against pillage during armed conflict. In the 1863 Lieber Code, which established the law of war for Union forces in the American Civil War, “all pillage or sacking, even after taking place by main force […were] prohibited under the penalty of death, or such other severe punishment as may seem adequate for the gravity of the offense.” In the Hague Regulations of 1907, two provisions categorically stipulate that “the pillage of a town or place, even when taken by assault, is prohibited,” and that “pillage is formally forbidden.”After the end of World War Two, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 again reaffirmed that “pillage is prohibited.” These provisions bind all states. Codification of pillage as an offense in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and in the statutes of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the Special Court for Sierra Leone establish the prohibition as also binding upon non-state actors.
But what is the definition of pillage?
According to guidelines used by the International Criminal Court (ICC), pillage occurs when a perpetrator takes property from the legitimate owner for his or her private or personal use, without consent, in an armed conflict. Essentially, pillage is theft under the cover of war.The requirement that the taking be perpetrated for the pillager’s “private or personal use” is controversial and likely only applies, if at all, to the ICC. Numerous cases brought after the Second World War successfully targeted representatives of companies that seized goods to support the Nazi or Japanese war effort; and jurisprudence in the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and in the Special Court for Sierra Leone also dispenses with any “private or personal use” limitation.
Have people been prosecuted for pillage?
Most recently, Charles Taylor, former president of Liberia, was convicted of war crimes charges that included aiding and abetting pillage during the civil war in Sierra Leone. Jean-Pierre Bemba, the former deputy president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is also accused of responsibility for pillage in the Central African Republic.But what about companies or corporations?
Numerous businessmen and other officials, including representatives of companies such as IG Farben, Krupp and Dresdner Bank were convicted of pillaging goods from Nazi-occupied territory to support the German war effort and/or for more directly commercial ends. No business representatives have been prosecuted for such activity since the late 1940s. Nor have companies (as distinct from businessmen) ever been prosecuted for pillage.Why revive prosecutions for corporate pillage?
Because pillaged natural resources are often among the principal sources of funding for regional conflict. Since the end of the Cold War, the illegal exploitation of natural resources has become a prevalent means of financing conflict in countries ranging from Angola and Afghanistan to Liberia, Burma, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The armed groups who perpetrate pillage rely on supposedly legitimate businesses and middle-men to turn pillaged goods into hard cash on the international markets.In Cambodia, in the 1980s, rain forest timber shipped to Thailand provided funding for a decade long civil war. In Sierra Leone in the 1990s, rebel leaders traded the country’s diamonds for weapons, fueling a brutal conflict that left tens of thousands dead or maimed. Illicit trafficking of coltan, gold, diamonds, and copper continues to sustain hostilities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The sale of pillaged natural resources fuels war. Businesses that knowingly buy, process and trade in these pillaged goods are all accessories to the war crime of pillage. They should be prosecuted as such.
What is Open Society doing about it?
The Open Society Justice Initiative has supported legal work to bring about prosecutions for corporate pillage and related crimes. This has included supporting the investigation and development of a legal case against Argor-Heraeus S.A., a Swiss precious metals refiner, over its role in processing almost three tons of gold illegally pillaged form the Democratic Republic of Congo during fighting there.We have also published a manual for prosecutors, Corporate War Crimes: Prosecuting the Pillage of Natural Resources. This is part of a larger anticorruption strategy which seeks to target the go-betweens and middle men who facilitate, and profit by, corruption related to natural resources, as well as our broader efforts to create a more open and transparent political and economic environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment