Namibia welcomes UN report on illegal DRC mining

Namibia has welcomed a UN Security Council report exonerating the government of illegal mining activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), PANA reported on Friday. The lengthy report on the illegal exploitation of natural resources and other forms of wealth in the DRC was compiled by a panel of experts led by Safiatou Ba N’Daw of Cote d’Ivoire, following allegations that Namibia was taking advantage of its troops’ presence in that country to mine diamonds. The report, which was tabled before the Security Council on Thursday, stated that the experts had not found substantial evidence that Namibia had signed commercial deals in the nature of “arms and support for natural resources”, the report said. Allegations of Namibia’s involvement in alleged illegal diamond mining activities surfaced in the national assembly last year, but the government accused the opposition of acting without facts. However, the controversy was refuelled in February when the government admitted that a defence forces company, in conjunction with a US and a Congolese company, had made a joint venture to prospect for diamonds in the DRC. In a statement issued on Thursday, a foreign, information and broadcasting ministry spokesman said the report vindicated the Namibian government’s position that its involvement in the DRC was not motivated by economic benefits. Namibia’s presence was rather driven by the principle of helping to defend a fellow SADC member state and to restore peace and stability in that country, the statement said.