Mandate of UN expert panel on resource exploitation extended

The mandate of the United Nations expert panel investigating the exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been extended until 31 October. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended the extension to the Security Council. He said that while the panel was expected to submit a report at the conclusion of its current mandate, it needed additional time to complete its work in order to receive completed questionnaires sent to the relevant countries involved, and also to corroborate evidence. The six-member panel's mandate was previously extended for six months in February. It issued a preliminary report in May. Prior reports were issued in November and May 2001. A number of countries have been implicated in the findings of the panel - particularly Rwanda and Uganda - since it began its work in September 2000. A separate investigation, headed by Justice David Porter, was established in Uganda in May 2001, in response to the panel's findings. The second UN report, published in November 2001, cleared the Ugandan Government of any wrongdoing, but accused General James Kazini and several Ugandan army officers of gaining personal wealth from mining operations in the DRC. The commission is ongoing and is scheduled to hand over its findings in August. The Belgian Senate established a further commission of inquiry in November 2001 - for an initial period of six months, renewable once - to investigate the alleged involvement of Belgian and non-Belgian companies in the illegal trade of natural resources of the DRC, and to explore measures to halt such activities from fuelling war in the region.