UNSC DRC SANCTIONS COMMITTEE CONSULTATIONS MAY 28

UNCLAS STATE 053811 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN ETTC KTFN PREL PTER ZF UNSC SUBJECT: UNSC DRC SANCTIONS COMMITTEE CONSULTATIONS MAY 28 ¶1. USUN may draw on the following points in the May 28 consultations of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1533 (2004) concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC): -- The United States thanks the Democratic Republic of the Congo Sanctions Committee's Group of Experts for its recent report. The Group of Experts continues to produce thorough, unbiased reporting, despite the difficult circumstances under which it operates. -- The DRC sanctions regime was created to address threats to peace and security posed by the violence in eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including: the entry of arms and other military materiel into the DRC; violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, in particular sexual violence against women and girls; the recruitment and use of children in armed groups; and illegal exploitation of the natural resources and other sources of wealth of the DRC. It is troubling that these problems persist five years after the establishment of the sanctions regime. -- The United States supports the Group of Experts recommendations in its interim report of May 4, 2009, and urges the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to: ¶1. Establish a human rights vetting mechanism for officers of the DRC Armed Forces, in the context of broader security sector reform; ¶2. Implement fully the existing 2002 Mining Code, facilitate legitimate trade of natural resources, and enhance transparency, in particular through continued and concerted steps to prepare for the validation process within the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative; and ¶3. Seek alternatives to charcoal, the production and sale of which harm the environment and create financial benefits for the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). -- We share the Group of Experts' concerns about rebel groups' reported arms caches and note that careful control, reporting and monitoring of arms flows into the DRC are important elements of reestablishing security throughout the country. In this vein, we are concerned by the Group of Experts reports that there continue to be violations of the arms embargo. The United States inadvertently erred by providing military training to the DRC without notifying the Committee in advance. We regret this oversight, and will work to ensure this does not happen again. We similarly urge all Member States to abide by their UN obligations to implement the arms embargo and comply with the notification procedures. -- Lastly, the United States would like to take this opportunity to express our grave concern over the recent increase in violent incidents ) both in number and in their level of brutality ) in the eastern DRC. We concur with the Group of Experts that dramatic changes to the political-military context over the past five months have potentially laid the groundwork for long-term positive developments. However, the May 9-10 massacre at Busurungi, which occurred five days after the circulation of the Group of Experts' draft report and is thus not included in it, highlights the continuing insecurity and very real dangers to the Congolese people that this Council, the DRC Committee and the Group of Experts must all continue to address. CLINTON