Need to confront issue of natural resource extraction

If the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is to have any chance of success, it must confront the issue of natural resource extraction in a serious and explicit manner, says the international aid charity, Oxfam, in a briefing document issued on Tuesday.

In the document, "Poverty in the midst of wealth", Oxfam said that the Lusaka peace accord, signed in 1999 but not yet fully implemented, had not incorporate the natural-resource issue. Since the signing, resource exploitation had assumed greater importance than ever, the agency said.

"There is a triangular link between the extraction of natural resources, human suffering and the peace process, which must be recognised," Oxfam said.

It advocated the inclusion of an addendum to the peace accord to handle the issue. This did not need to detract from progress, Oxfam added, but in fact provided a better chance for sustainable peace in Congo and the greater region.

Oxfam said that while security considerations had some legitimacy, they did not justify the levels of foreign troop deployment in the Congo. "Although troop numbers may have reduced in some areas, deployment is increasingly concentrated in mineral-rich areas," it said.

The organisation drew attention to the fact that Zimbabwean troops are deployed in Kasais and Katanga, areas rich in diamonds, copper, cobalt and timber. Rwandan troops are concentrated in the Kivus and Maniema, rich in coltan, gold, timber and diamonds. Ugandan troops are in Ituri and northern Kivu, near areas awash in gold, timber, diamonds and coltan.

"Wealth from natural resources is sustaining the war and bad governance," Oxfam said. "Natural resource exploitation has become a key factor in determining military deployment, perpetuating the cycle of violence."

Oxfam's other suggestions to promote the peace process are high-level coordinated diplomatic engagement by Britain, France, Belgium and the US; an arms embargo on all countries directly involved in the war; and an expansion of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in the DRC to include a stronger role in the monitoring of arms flows. A spokeswoman for Oxfam told IRIN on Wednesday that the charity would be engaging in advocacy work to highlight the recommendations of the report.

"We are trying to put pressure on governments, to highlight the human suffering, and to point out that the only solution is to address the peace process," she said.