WRITTEN QUESTION E-0930/02

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(5 April 2002)

Subject: Logging concession in the rainforest in the Democratic Republic of Congo

In its answer to Written Question E-3498/01(1), the Commission stated that a Zimbabwean company, whose Board of Directors included military personnel, had succeeded in securing the most extensive logging concession in the world.

Can the Commission supply me with the name of that company? Where is its registered office, and who serves on its Board of Directors? Who are the shareholders of that company?

From an environmental point of view, how does the Commission assess the granting of that logging concession? Will it take measures to make the contracting parties understand that the logging of such a vast area is incompatible with a sustainable worldwide environmental policy?

Does this logging concession have any direct connection with the extraction of coltan? In other words, will coltan be extracted from the area in which the logging takes place? If not, then what is the purpose behind the clearance of such an enormous area?

Has the Commission already received the interim report of the six-member expert committee set up by the UN Security Council? Has it been able to extract sufficient information therefrom for it to form an opinion as to whether or not sanctions should be imposed on one or more of the parties involved in the (illegal) exploitation of the natural resources of the Democratic Republic of Congo?

(1) OJ C 229 E, 26.9.2002, p. 27.

Answer given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(2 May 2002)

According to the information gathered by the Commission, the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party, along with the Zimbabwe Defence Force (ZDF), are reported to have forged several large-scale financial deals involving Congolese timber and other natural resources.

A joint venture between the Zimbabwean military controlled OSLEG (Operation Sovereign Legitimacy, formed after the start of the war in 1999) and the Kinshasa-based company Comiex (whose majority shareholder was former President Laurent Desiré Kabila) led to the creation of Socebo (Société Congolaise pour l'Exploitation du Bois), according to a recent report on Zimbabwe's commercial and military interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Commission considers that in absence of any sound national forestry policy, a sustainable management plan should be adopted and implemented in order to ensure the sustainability of the Congolese logging concessions and limit the environmental damage of the exploitation. However the logging concession has been established in the context of a war economy in a country like DRC where re-establishing the rule of law will be long and difficult. At the moment, the Commission has no possibility to take measures to influence the contracting parties.

The logging concession does not have any direct connection with coltan extraction as it is not supposed to be present in the region of the logging concession. Tropical timber is itself a valuable resource on the world market that is worth the extensive exploitation of a vast area.

At present there are still not compelling elements for orienting the action of Union towards imposing sanctions on any of the parties involved in DRC's resources exploitation and/or trade. The United Nations Security Council on 19 December 2001 decided to postpone a decision on sanctions for another six months. It gave mandate to the six-member panel of experts to further deepen investigations on the illegal exploitation of natural resources in DRC. An interim report is expected by end of April 2002 and a final report by end of August. After that, it is hoped to have definite elements on which the international community will base its action.