(Rapaport…January 31, 2003) The European Union (EU) parliament has passed a resolution that denounces the illegal exploitation of the resources of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and calls for concrete punishments for those responsible.
The parliament notes that the issue of access and control of key mineral resources such as diamonds is one of the main causes of the civil war in the DRC and it condemns the resource exploitation by DRC’s neighbors and private international companies.
The resolution calls on the International Criminal Court to investigate acts of genocide and crimes against humanity committed in Africa and elsewhere, where such acts were perpetrated to illegally secure natural resources, such as conflict diamonds and timber.
Finally, the parliament demands that those persons found guilty of pillaging the resources of the DRC to be dismissed and excluded from office during the transitional period which will precede the establishment of democracy in the DRC.