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UK taken to court for refusing to comply with UN sanctions

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

London, July 26, IRNA -- The British government was accused Monday of failing to comply with UN sanctions after being taken to court for refusing to put forward eligible UK companies and individuals trading in Congolese ‘conflict minerals’.

In an application for a judicial review at the High Court in London, Global Witness said that a number of UK companies known to have been trading in minerals sourced from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) should have been put forward to the UN Sanctions Committee.

“It is a sad day when we have to sue the UK government, but we hope that this case will mark a turning point. The issues at stake have global significance for how wars are financed,” said Gavin Hayman, Campaigns Director at Global Witness.

“These companies have profited from a brutal conflict, and should face UN sanctions – but sanctions are useless without a fair and clear government procedure for considering whether individuals or entities should be listed,” Hayman said in a statement obtained by IRNA.

UNSC Resolution 1857, passed in December 2008, calls for a travel ban and asset freeze to be imposed on all individuals and entities supporting illegal armed groups in the eastern DRC through the illicit trade of natural resources.

It was backed up and strengthened the following year in Resolution 1896, passed a year later, in which UN Member States are encouraged to put individuals and entities forward for sanctions.

Global Witness, which seeks to expose the corrupt exploitation of natural resources and international trade system, said it had “extensive evidence” that British companies have supported armed groups by purchasing minerals under their control in the DRC, but that despite this, the UK government has never put any of them forward for sanctions.

“The link between natural resources and conflict in the Congo is well known. Armed groups controlling the trade in minerals like tin and tungsten use the money to buy guns and fund their violent campaign against civilians,” Hayman said.

“The UN resolutions recognised that companies sourcing directly or indirectly from the region are part of the problem. But in spite of our frequent appeals, the UK government has steadfastly refused to act, which left us no choice but to take them to court,” he said.

Global Witness is seeking a mandatory court order requiring the UK’s new coalition government to revisit their predecessors’ decision and put forward for sanctions UK nationals and companies violating the terms of the UN resolutions.