Mapping Report > Section II. Inventory of Specific Acts of Violence > CHAPTER III. Acts of violence linked to natural resource exploitation
It would be impossible to produce an inventory of the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed within the DRC between March 1993 and June 2003 without considering, however briefly, the role of natural resource exploitation in the perpetration of these crimes. In a significant number of events, the struggle between the different armed groups for control of the DRC’s natural assets served as a backdrop to numerous violations directed against the civilian population. Nonetheless, while the Mapping Team’s investigations in the field revealed the existence of serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law related to natural resource exploitation, it became clear that a detailed analysis of this complex phenomenon would not be possible, due to a lack of time and expertise. It was therefore decided from the outset, as with the other thematic chapters, that time would be spent on researching specialist information and documentation in order to highlight the connection between the abuses committed by all parties to the conflict and natural resource exploitation.
It should be noted that most reports and documents focusing on natural resource exploitation in Zaire and, later, the DRC are fairly recent. An awareness of this inter-connection has only developed over the last few years and, with the exception of studies conducted by some historians and economists, detailed documentation of the multiple facets and effects of this exploitation has only been available since around 2000, in response to research and campaigning work conducted by Congolese and international NGOs. The reports of the United Nations Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth in the DRC also contributed significantly to bringing this issue to the fore.1324 Whilst all these studies have primarily focused on an economic analysis of the issue, they have nonetheless enabled the existence of a link, indirect but very real, to be noted between the illegal or unregulated exploitation of natural resources and violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
The conclusions of these studies, coupled with the cases documented by the Mapping Teams, will be presented in this chapter. The inter-connection between natural resource exploitation and violations of human rights and international humanitarian law will be analysed from three distinct angles:
- The violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed by the parties to the conflict in the context of the struggle to gain access to and control the richest areas of the country, along with the roads, border posts and trading centres.
- The human rights abuses committed by armed groups during their long-term occupation of an economically rich area. The regimes of terror and coercion established in these regions gave rise to a whole range of human rights abuses, ranging from the use of forced and child labour to all kinds of abuses of power, including violations of the right to life, along with sexual violence, torture and the forced displacement of civilians. In many cases, the extremely hazardous working conditions imposed on miners were in violation of their economic and social rights and the international labour standards to which the DRC is a party.
- Finally, the huge profits generated from the exploitation of natural resources fuelled and helped fund the conflicts, which were themselves a source and cause of the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
1993- 2003: An overview
The DRC is home to an abundance of natural resources ranging from a multitude of minerals – including diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, cassiterite (tin ore) and coltan – to timber, coffee and oil. This vast natural wealth has scarcely benefited the Congolese people, however, and has in contrast been the cause of numerous serious human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law. The issues of natural resource exploitation and human rights have been very closely linked in the DRC for many years, dating back to colonial times, and the three decades of President Mobutu Sese Seko’s rule.
The DRC has huge economic potential: it accounts for around 17% of global production of rough diamonds, for example.1325 The copper belt that runs through Katanga and Zambia contains 34% of the world’s cobalt and 10% of the world’s copper. Moreover, 60% – 80% of global coltan reserves, used in the manufacture of mobile phones, computers and other electronic equipment, can be found in North and South Kivu.1326 Yet the successive governments of the last few decades have not exploited this potential to the benefit of the Congolese people. Very little of the revenue from natural resource exploitation has been ploughed back into the country to contribute to its development or to raise living standards. In 2003, the DRC ranked 167th out of 177 countries in the UN Human Development Index, with a life expectancy of no more than 43 years.1327
During Mobutu’s rule, natural resource exploitation in Zaire was characterised by widespread corruption, fraud, pillaging, bad management and a lack of accountability. The regime’s political/military elites put systems in place that enabled them to control and exploit the country’s mineral resources, thereby amassing great personal wealth but contributing nothing to the country’s sustainable development.1328
The two Congolese wars of 1996 and 1998 represented a further major setback to development, causing the destruction of a great deal of infrastructure and propagating the practice of resource pillaging inherited from Mobutu’s kleptocratic regime, under the pretext of funding the war effort. Given the importance of diamonds to the country’s economy, the way in which President Mobutu and, later, President Kabila managed this sector was symptomatic of the bad management and looting that took place under the country’s successive governments.1329
1996 marked an important turning point in two respects:
- With the start of the first war, natural resource exploitation became heavily militarised. Under Mobutu, the forestry and mining sectors had been primarily controlled by civilians, even though some of the profits were channelled to the military; after 1996, however, these sectors fell gradually under the control of the new national army, foreign armies and different armed groups. As a result, the mining, forestry and trading regions became increasingly militarised, leading to escalating violence against the civilian population.
- A growing number of foreign actors became directly involved in exploiting the DRC’s natural resources. Rebel groups and armies from neighbouring countries all participated, some (such as Zimbabwe) with the blessing of the Congolese authorities, others (such as Uganda and Rwanda) either through the intermediaryof their Congolese partners or connections or by directly occupying a part of the country. Given the weakness and corruption of the central government, the DRC’s wealth was within the grasp of any group violent and determined enough to impose its control by force.
The warring parties’ reasons for being involved in the conflicts changed over time. Initially, in 1996, the conflict appeared to be driven primarily by political, ethnic and security considerations. During the second war, however, natural resource exploitation became increasingly attractive, not only because it enabled these groups to finance their war efforts but also because, for a large number of political/military leaders, it was a source of personal enrichment. Natural resources thus gradually became a driving force behind the war.1330
Control over these resources was established and maintained by force. This gave rise to extortion at mining sites, on the main roads and at borders, along with the imposition of formal or semi-formal systems of taxation, licences and fees, and frequent requisitioning of stockpiles of precious timber and minerals. Other more organised systems were also established, such as, for example, the creation of “front” companies and networks enabling foreign armies to exploit the county’s resources in collaboration with the rebel groups they supported, without being visibly involved.1331
The increasing importance of the economic factor partly explains the shifting alliances between different armed groups throughout the conflict. The lure of money was one of the reasons why opposing groups would sometimes suddenly join ranks or why the closest allies would unexpectedly turn against each other, as in North and South Kivu, for example, and Orientale Province. Even though strategic differences and rivalries also played a part, the fighting between the Rwandan and Ugandan forces at Kisangani (described below) was perhaps the starkest illustration of this phenomenon.
More ironic still, opponents could become business partners while continuing to fight each other on the ground. In North and South Kivu, battlefield enemies momentarily overcame their differences for the sake of extracting maximum profits from the minerals trade. For example, in Walikale territory, businessmen linked to the RCD-Goma and the Rwandan army systematically bought minerals, in this case coltan, from ALiR/FDLR rebels, some of whom had been involved in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, or from Mayi-Mayi groups, thus helping finance their rebel activities.1332 The Panel of Experts described this situation as a lucrative “win-win” situation for all belligerents, the only losers being the Congolese people.1333
The importance of the economic agenda in the conflicts that ravaged the DRC can be clearly seen in the battles that were waged for the control of mines or lucrative customs posts. On every occasion, civilians were either directly targeted by one or both sides or ended up caught in the crossfire. Fighting around the gold mining town of Mongbwalu in Ituri (described below) was one of the most striking examples of this phenomenon but almost all parties to the conflict were involved in similar confrontations.1334
Conclusion
The impunity of crimes committed in the context of natural resource exploitation in the DRC reflects the broader absence of justice for violations of human rights and international humanitarian law throughout the country.
The Kilwa case demonstrated the difficulty in proving the legal responsibility of private companies in the perpetration of human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law, even when they are supplying arms or logistical support to armed groups. This case also showed that political interference1409 and a lack of impartiality are all the more striking when economic interests are at stake.1410 In this incident in 2004, at least 73 people were killed apparently by the Congolese army (FARDC) in Kilwa, a town in Katanga that had fallen into the hands of a rebel group.1411 An Australian-Canadian mining company was accused of supplying the army with logistics and transport during its military operation. In 2007, in the first case of its kind, nine Congolese soldiers and three expatriate employees of the mining company were charged with war crimes and complicity in war crimes, respectively, in connection with these events. The case could have set an important precedent in terms of corporate accountability. Instead, all the defendants were acquitted of the charges relating to the events in Kilwa, in a trial by a military court that failed to meet international standards of fairness. 1412
In a break with the general climate of impunity for crimes committed in this context, in December 2005, the International Court of Justice pronounced its judgement on a case brought against Uganda by the Government of the DRC. The case included numerous accusations relating to the conduct of Ugandan troops in eastern DRC, including the illegal exploitation of natural resources. The Court found that Uganda had “by acts of looting, plundering and exploitation of Congolese natural resources committed by members of the Ugandan armed forces in the territory of the DRC and by its failure to comply with its obligations as an occupying Power in Ituri district to prevent acts of looting, plundering and exploitation of Congolese natural resources, violated obligations owed to the DRC under international law.” Although the Court also found that Uganda had violated its obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law “by the conduct of its armed forces, which committed acts of killing, torture and other forms of inhumane treatment of the Congolese civilian population […] incited ethnic conflict and failed to take measures to put an end to such conflict”, it did not make the connection between natural resource exploitation and the perpetration of these abuses. The Court concluded that Uganda was under an obligation to provide reparation to the DRC.1413 The DRC government submitted a similar case to the ICJ against Rwanda but the Court ruled that it did not have the jurisdiction to hear the case.1414
The abundance of natural resources in the DRC and the absence of regulation and responsibility in this sector have created a particular dynamic that has clearly contributed directly to widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. In its final report in October 2003, the Panel of Experts stated: “Illegal exploitation remains one of the main sources of funding for groups involved in perpetuating conflict”.1415 Its successor, the Group of Experts, reached a similar conclusion concerning the period 2004 to 2008, illustrating how the trade in natural resources still underpins some of the most serious abuses in eastern DRC.1416
It must be noted, however, that most of the reports published on this issue have focused primarily on economic policy, without dwelling on the issue of human rights or demonstrating the inter-connection between these two issues.
The mandate of the Mapping Exercise prevents this issue from being considered beyond this chapter and there is thus a need for a detailed analysis of the connection between natural resource exploitation and the perpetration of these abuses.
1324 The UN Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, established following a request from the Security Council in June 2000, was critical in raising the international community’s awareness of the issue of the illegal exploitation of the DRC’s natural resources, particularly in terms of fuelling the armed conflict. Although it did not investigate specific incidents of human rights violations, its reports highlighted the fact that the parties responsible for some of the gravest violations of human rights and international humanitarian law during this period were motivated in large part by the scramble for natural resources. From its very first report, the Panel of Experts did not shy away from exposing the networks behind the illicit exploitation of resources, drawing tough conclusions and proposing bold recommendations. Disappointingly, despite the extensive work of the Panel of Experts and its damning conclusions, its finding were never acted upon and the abusive exploitation of natural resources documented in its reports continued almost unchanged in the years that followed. In 2004, the Panel of Experts was succeeded by a Group of Experts with a narrower mandate: its primary task was to monitor the arms embargo in force against armed groups in eastern DRC, although its secondary purpose was to investigate the natural resource trade as a source of finance for these armed groups. Like the Panel, the Group of Experts has documented the way in which the natural resource trade has enabled armed groups to survive.
1325 See “Annual Global Summary, 2007. Production, Imports, Exports and KPC Counts”, available from: https://mmsd.mms.nrcan.gc.ca/kimberleystats/publicstats.asp).
1326 Global Witness, Same Old Story – A Background Study on Natural Resources in the DRC, 2004; Le Potentiel, “Guerre économique en RDC: Global Witness appelle au boycottage du ‘coltan du sang’”, 18 February 2009; see also “Du sang dans nos portables”, French documentary, Canal Plus, broadcast on 13 December 2007.
1327 UNDP, Human Development Report. International cooperation at a crossroads: aid, trade and security in an unequal world, 2005.
1328 For more information on the way in which Mobutu’s regime exploited the country’s natural resources, see for example Emmanuel Dungia, Mobutu et l’argent du Zaïre, révélations d’un diplomate, ex-agent des services secrets, 1993, and Philippe Madelin, L’or des dictatures, 1993.
1329 See Christian Dietrich, Hard Currency: the Criminalised Diamond Economy of the DRC and its Neighbours, 2002.
1330 Addendum to the Report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the DRC (S/2001/1072); AI, Our brothers who help kill us: Economic exploitation and human rights abuses in the east, 2003.
1331 Report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the DRC (S/2001/357). Section III B of this report describes how the warring parties financed their war.
1332 Interview with the Mapping Team, North Kivu, December 2008 and January 2009; Final report of the
Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the DRC
(S/2002/1146), paras. 66-69; IPIS; “Network War: An Introduction to Congo’s Privatised War Economy”,
October 2002; AI, Our brothers who help kill us: Economic exploitation and human rights abuses in the east, 2003.
1333 Report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the DRC (S/2001/357).
1334 Reports of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the DRC (S/2001/357, S/2001/1072 and S/2002/565); IPIS, Network War: an Introduction to Congo’s Privatised War Economy, 2002.
1409 MONUC Human Rights Division, “The human rights situation in the DRC during the period of July to December 2006”, 8 February 2007.
1410 For a more detailed analysis of the Kilwa case and legal practice in the DRC, see Section III.
1411 MONUC, Report on the conclusions of the Special Investigation into allegations of summary executions and other violations of human rights committed by the FARDC in Kilwa (Province of Katanga) on 15 October 2004, paras. 24 to 29.
1412 OHCHR, “High Commissioner for Human Rights concerned at Kilwa military trial in the DRC”, 4 July 2007; Joint Report by Global Witness, RAID, ACIDH and ASADHO/KATANGA, “Kilwa Trial: a Denial
of Justice”, 17 July 2007, available from: www.globalwitness.org/media_library_detail.php/560/fr/le_process_de_kilwa.
1413 ICJ, “Armed activities on the territory of the Congo” (DRC v. Uganda), 19 December 2005.
1414 ICJ Judgment, “Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (New Application: 2002) [DRC v. Rwanda]”, Jurisdiction of the Court and Admissibility of the Application, 3 February 2006. The application could not be entertained by the Court as Rwanda challenged its jurisdiction, and its consent was necessary for the Court to consider the case.
1415 Addendum to the Report of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the DRC (S/2001/1072), para. 44.
1416 See the Group of Experts’ reports published between 2004 and 2008.
