New chair appointed to head resource exploitation panel

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday recommended a career diplomat from Egypt to chair a panel of experts investigating the illegal exploitation of natural resources in the DRC. In a letter to the Security Council on Thursday, Annan said that Mahmoud Kassem, who previously served as Chairman of the International Commission of Inquiry (ICOI) on Rwanda and the Committee of Experts on Afghanistan, is “an eminent person whose experience amply qualifies him to occupy this important position”. Kassem’s diplomatic career includes positions of Egyptian Under-Secretary of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Permanent Representative of Egypt to the UN in Geneva and New York, Ambassador of Egypt to Canada, a number of African countries, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Last month, the Security Council requested that Annan extend for three months the mandate of the Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth in the DRC. The Council also asked that the panel submit an addendum to their final report containing its findings. According to the Secretary-General’s letter, if Mr. Kassem’s candidacy is approved by the Security Council, the new chair and members of the Panel will briefly convene in New York before proceeding to the Great Lakes region. Mr. Kassem will replace Safiatou Ba-N’Daw, who has taken up a position as Director of the Special Unit for Technical Cooperation Among Developing Countries, within the UN Development Programme (UNDP).