Africa Thesis Award 2011
This article is based on research done by one of the 3 nominees of the Africa Thesis Award 2011 of the African Studies Centre in Leiden. The award aims to encourage student research and writing on Sub-Saharan Africa and to promote the study of African cultures and societies. In the running up to the prize presentation ceremony RNW spoke to the nominees.
Illegal mining of minerals in East Congo could be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a war crime. This is the conclusion of the research by Dutch student Dirk Ormel.
Under the Rome Statute the ICC in The Hague could recognise the exploitation of natural resources as a war crime. According to the Dutch student, all five elements that are listed by the ICC to constitute the war crime of pillage are fulfilled. Consequently the ICC could start investigations into this matter.
In his research Ormel states that the pillage of natural resources was prosecuted after the Second World War during the Nuremberg trials in Germany. But after this first appearance in international criminal law it has been silent on the international stage concerning this violation of the laws of war. Ormel argues this silence should be broken with “new prosecutions for an old crime”.
Minerals as a catalyst
Minerals, such as gold and wolframite, found in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) serve as a catalyst in motivating and sustaining the conflict taking place in the east of the country. Since 1996 the east of DRC has been home to an armed conflict between militant groups and the Congolese national army. Besides ideological, ethnical and political motives, financial enrichment through the trade in minerals is a strong catalyst for this conflict. The different parties fight each other for control over mineral-rich areas, and they are responsible for large-scale killings, rape and forced labour. The conflict has caused millions of refugees to flee the violence and DRC has been called the “epicentre of sexual violence against women”.
Ormel claims that these violations are of sufficient gravity to warrant investigation and consequent prosecution by the ICC.
Effect beyond borders
“Not only must this crime be prosecuted because it is the cause of the terrible ongoing violence in eastern Congo, but also because prosecution by the ICC of individuals responsible for the pillage of natural resources will undoubtedly have a discouraging effect on them,” he states in his research.
“Moreover other African conflicts where natural resources are the underlying cause may be influenced by a strong example set by an international prosecution of natural resource pillage. Such a discouragement could move beyond the borders of the African continent and, possibly, positively influence conflicts all over the world that are connected to natural resources.”
Read the full research: 'Can and should the illegal exploitation of natural resources in East-DRC be prosecuted as a war crime by the International Criminal Court?'
More about the Africa Thesis Awards 2011
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i read on another site from Dirk that he didnt visit any mines .........."Did you go to any of the illegal mining sites?
No, that was too dangerous. But I did arrange a meeting with two members of the MONUSCO peacekeeping force in DRC who had seen it all. I met them in Bukavu. They told me all about the illegal trade in minerals".... it seems like the research on this story and this thesis is pretty poor
Im sorry to say but your information is inaccurate, I myself would hope in the future to see better more exact information.
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