WRITTEN QUESTION E-1539/01 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Implications of the growing demand for coltan used in mobile telephones for the continuation of the civil war in Congo-Kinshasa.
Date: 2001-05-28
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, child labour, civil war, economic sanctions, economic situation, human rights, import (EU), import restriction, mineral resources, mining product

14.2.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 40 E/51

The Union has taken the opportunity in its political dialogue with Indonesia to voice its concerns, and has
encouraged the Indonesian authorities to continue their efforts to restore security, prevent further violence
and find solutions to regional disputes through dialogue rather than by force (cf. Union Presidency
statements of 28 November 2000 and 8 March 2001).

(2002/C 40 E/047)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1537/01

by John McCartin (PPE-DE) to the Council

(7 June 2001)

Subject: Kosovar Albanian prisoners in Serbia

While the recent partial release of Kosovar Albanian prisoners in Serbia is very welcome, does the Council
agree that this serves to deflect attention from the urgency of releasing all the remaining prisoners, some
of whom are very ill? In particular does the Council have any information on Skender Ferizi, Besim
Zymberi and Bedri Kukalai, in prison since the Dubrava massacre in Kosovo in May 1999?

Reply

(8 October 2001)

The Council has always taken a close interest in Kosovar prisoners in Serbia. The amnesty law passed
earlier this year was a direct result of pressure from the EU and more generally from the international
community. The subsequent release of a sizeable number of political prisoners and, in April, of all 145
Kosovo Albanian detainees of the so-called (cid:145)Djakovica group(cid:146) were publicly welcomed by the Council. This
was not a means to (cid:145)deflect attention from urgency of releasing other prisoners(cid:146), but rather real progress in
the consolidation of democracy and human rights in Serbia. According to the International Red Cross
(which, after agreement with the Belgrade authorities, is in charge of assisting detainees in Serb prisons)
some 273 people of Kosovar origin are still detained (number is decreasing day by day due to the
implementation of the amnesty). About 60 of these can be considered (cid:145)political prisoners(cid:146). The rest are
charged with criminal offences.

According the ICRC, the three detainees mentioned by the Honourable Member, are regularly visited by
them (and their doctors) and appear to be receiving appropriate medical treatment in prison. Only one of
them (Bedri Kukalai) needs, and is receiving, specialist medical attention. Like the other prisoners, they are
permitted to write regularly to their families through the Red Cross.

(2002/C 40 E/048)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1539/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(28 May 2001)

Subject: Implications of the growing demand for coltan used in mobile telephones for the continuation of

the civil war in Congo-Kinshasa

1.
Coltan is a metal which is used in electronic equipment including mobile telephones, pagers and
computers as well as aircraft turbines, surgical instruments and chemical processing plant. 70 % of the
world(cid:146)s coltan reserves are thought
Is the
Commission acquainted with the report published in the New Scientist of 7 April 2001 concerning the
link between the extraction of colombo tantalite (coltan) extraction and the continuing civil war in Congo?

to be found in the African country of Congo-Kinshasa.

C 40 E/52

Official Journal of the European Communities

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14.2.2002

Is the Commission aware that, according to the report referred to in question 1 above, the country(cid:146)s
2.
largest reserves of this metal are to be found in the area of Kivu which is controlled by an armed faction
known as the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) which is supported by Rwanda?

Is the Commission also aware that the RCD is being partly financed by proceeds from the mining of

3.
coltan, being the principal shareholder of the SOMIGL, which controls mining operations?

4.
At least one of the biggest processors of coltan is based in the European Union, that is to say H. C.
Starck of Goslar, part of the Bayer Group in Germany. Given that the main purchasers of coltan claim not
to know about the political situation and the provenance of the metal purchased by them, arguing that
coltan is purchased through intermediaries, what action can the Commission take?

5.
Demand for coltan has increased continuously thanks to the expanding markets in mobile
telephones, putting pressure on traditional producers of coltan, including Australia and the United States,
as a result of which the industry is showing increased interest in obtaining supplies from eastern Congo. In
the Commission(cid:146)s view, are there any possibilities of preventing access to the European market for imports
coming through Rwanda or Uganda?

In the Commission(cid:146)s view what other possibilities exist of helping to ensure that coltan extraction,
6.
together with ethnic and political differences, does not become a reason in itself for the continuation of
the civil war in Congo, or at least of putting an end to the complicity of European Union-based companies
in a war being waged for economic reasons? Is the Commission prepared to act accordingly?

(2002/C 40 E/049)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1540/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(28 May 2001)

Subject: Forced labour and exploitation in the east of Congo-Kinshasa for the extraction of coltan used in

mobile telephony

1.
Is the Commission acquainted with an article appearing in the Dutch (cid:145)Trouw(cid:146) journal of 18 April
2001 reporting that the Kivu area in the east of Congo-Kinshasa which, was previously a prosperous
agricultural area, has now been laid to waste by the unrestrained extraction of coltan, that this not only
has a harmful environmental impact but also is causing loss of life, since the hand-dug mine shafts are
extremely prone to cave-ins, that not only are food supplies stagnating but also 30 % of children are no
longer able to attend school since they are being forced to dig for coltan and that the Rwandan Army also
owns a number of mines, in which Congolese prisoners of war and Hutus are held in Rwandan jails are
being used as forced labour?

Does the fact that proceeds from the mines in Rwandan ownership are directly used for the purchase

2.
of weapons prompt any form of action to prevent this?

Is the Commission aware that the information sought in questions 1 and 2 can be found in a United

3.
Nations report and that action is being taken to prevent its publication in full?

4. What contribution can the European Union make to prevent the use of forced labour under such
dangerous conditions?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-1539/01 and E-1540/01
given by Mr Nielson on behalf of the Commission

(3 September 2001)

The Commission is aware of the press report referred to by the Honourable Member concerning coltan
mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The information tallies with what the Commission
has been told by several organisations it has contacts with in the DRC (Non-Governmental Organisations
(NGOs) and international agencies), and the United Nations (UN) has published an Interim Report on the
subject.