Eric Thurm
Terrorsaur NC
Emory ‘10
Sanctions
A. Uniqueness- Sanctions in the Congo have not been enforced, and they do not include asset
freezes on relevant parties. Global Witness in June ’09:
[M]ost governments’ responses to Resolution 1857 to date have been
fairly passive. UN member states should go beyond the minimum interpretation of the implementation of
Resolution 1857 and take additional steps to break the links between the mineral trade and
the armed conflict in eastern DRC. In particular, they should submit to the UN
Sanctions Committee the names of individuals or companies registered in their
country who are known to be trading in natural resources produced by or
benefiting armed groups. Resolution 1857 “encourages Member States to provide
any additional information whenever such information becomes available”, yet by the end
of March 2009, no state had submitted to the UN Sanctions Committee the names of
individuals or entities which met the criteria for sanctions in connection with the
natural resources trade, not even those named in the December 2008 report of the
Group of Experts.1
As illustrated above,
B. Link- Freezing the assets of European mineral companies that finance the conflict in the
Congo would eliminate funding and incentive for paramilitary groups. Xan Rice and Julian
Borger:
The continuing violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo is being fuelled by
western companies who are buying the country's minerals without properly
checking their origins, a new report alleges today. Global Witness says the Congolese army and other armed groups in the east of the country control much
of the mining and trade in tin ore (cassiterite), coltan, wolframite – often using forced labour. The report argues the trade is
prolonging the 12-year conflict there, which has seen mass killings and rape. About 100,000
people have been driven from their homes in the past few months alone. "As long as the warring parties can fund
themselves through international trade, they will continue to be able to inflict
widespread violence on the population," said Patrick Alley, the director of Global
Witness. The report calls for UN sanctions against foreign firms that buy the
minerals from intermediaries without exploring who was profiting from their
purchase. Many of the firms accused are Belgian but Global Witness also calls for UN sanctions against a
British firm, the
London-based Amalgamated Metal Corporation (AMC), whose
subsidiary, Thaisarco, buys tin ore in eastern Congo. Global Witness acknowledges that Thaisarco purchases minerals
from legal, government-authorised brokers, but argues the firm should do more to find out who is supplying those brokers. It points to a UN
resolution calling for sanctions, including the freezing of assets of individuals or
companies helping Congolese armed groups through the trade in natural resources.2
The use of sanctions would cut off the funding that armed groups require for their violent
conflict. Global Witness 2:
UN member states should take strong action in response to new information about
companies and individuals who trade in minerals from areas of the eastern
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) controlled by armed groups, Global Witness said today. The
latest report from the Group of Experts was submitted to the UN Security Council last week, and subsequently leaked to a number of news organisations. Due to be officially
published in December 2009, the report provides new and detailed evidence of the international mineral trading networks which Congolese armed groups rely on as a major source
1
2
Global Witness Faced with a gun, what can you do? June 21,2009
Rice, Xan and Borger, Julian British Firms Linked to Congo’s Illicit Trade The Guardian July 21, 2009
Eric Thurm
Terrorsaur NC
Emory ‘10
Sanctions
of finance. Mineral processors Thailand Smelting and Refining Company (THAISARCO) -- part of the British metals group AMC -- and Malaysian Smelting Corporation (MSC)
are among the companies cited, once again, by the Group of Experts as sourcing minerals from suppliers who have links with some of the most violent armed groups.
"AMC and MSC are among the persistent offenders," said Global Witness
Campaigns Director Gavin Hayman. "They have been named time and time again
in reports by the Group of Experts and Global Witness, yet continue to use
suppliers and middlemen who buy from mines controlled by armed groups." The armed
groups involved in the illicit mineral trade include the predominantly Rwandan Hutu Forces démocratiques pour la libération du Rwanda (FDLR), some of whose leaders allegedly
participated in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and the Tutsi-led Congrès national pour la défense du peuple (CNDP). Despite officially joining the Congolese national army in early
2009, the CNDP maintains many of its former command structures, and has extended its control over mining areas since its forces became integrated into the army. As part of the
UN-backed Operation Kimia II, Congolese army units headed by former CNDP commanders have taken over and exploited mining sites previously occupied by the FDLR.
Global Witness is calling on UN member states to push for companies and
individuals named in the Group of Experts' successive reports in connection with
their purchases of conflict minerals to be included on the UN sanctions list.
Sanctions should also be imposed on the directors of the main Congolese mineral
exporters, known as comptoirs, cited in the report. "There has been a shocking lack of action by member
states to cut off the finance which armed groups derive from the mineral trade",
said Gavin Hayman. "To date, no companies, mineral traders or processors have
been put on the UN sanctions list, despite abundant evidence that their activities are
contributing to keeping armed groups alive. The damning evidence in the latest Group of Experts report should now oblige states
to act."3
C. Impact- Trying to outweigh is useless; the conflict in the Congo is the worst in the world
today. Reuters in ’08:
War, disease and malnutrition are killing 45,000 Congolese every month in a
conflict-driven humanitarian crisis that has claimed 5.4 million victims in nearly a
decade, a survey released on Tuesday said. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which carried out the study with
Australia's Burnet Institute, said Democratic Republic of Congo's 1998-2003 war and its aftermath
had caused more deaths than any other conflict since World War Two. "Congo's
loss is equivalent to the entire population of Denmark or the state of Colorado
perishing within a decade," George Rupp, president of the aid group, said in a
statement.4
AND it links to deont because
1. The war exists because WE finance it, meaning it is an action of ours and not an omission
that causes the harm. The choice to trade in these minerals is a choice we make, and
2. It isn’t an unknowing choice. My evidence says that these companies KNOW when they
trade in these minerals they are aware of the consequences and simply ignore them to
make a profit.
3
4
Global Witness, Global Witness Urges Governments to Act on Findings of UN Experts’ Report on DRC 11/26/2009
Reuters, Congo War-Driven Crisis Kills 45,000 a Month- Study January, 2008