UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council has renewed its peacekeeping mission -- the largest in the world -- in impoverished Congo, scene of on-again, off-again armed confrontations, mostly in the east of the huge nation. But this time the extension is for only two months.
The panel of 15 Thursday unanimously approved the new mandate as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the Democratic Republic of the Congo to enhance security and tighten mining industry oversight because it funds armed conflict.
The reason for only a two-month extension was to give time to the secretary-general to report following his recent visit to the DRC. It asked for him to report by March 15. The new mandate expires April 15.
Proclaiming the country poses "a threat to international peace and security in the region," the council approved extension of the U.N. Organization Mission in the DRC on the very day the old mandate was to expire. The 18,000-troop mission is commonly referred to by its French acronym, MONUC.
The secretary-general, in his latest report on the DRC issued Thursday, called on authorities to focus on security sector reform and to tighten up legislation covering business practices in diamond and other mining.
He proposed alternative measures be explored with a view to reducing the influence of economic operators that use proceeds from natural-resource exploitation to buy and import weapons.
Ban also recommended the Congolese government promote a business climate that discourages extortion, fraud and other illegal practices to strengthen the authorities' ability to raise public funds. To meet these goals, the secretary-general proposes the drafting of a code of conduct specifically designed for private actors in that country.
He went as far as to suggest the possibility of imposing sanctions on the country as a way of cleaning up the mining industry.
But Ban stopped short, citing the uncertainty of whether sanctions would work against such practices. He also recalled it was only in December the Central Africa country reached the milestone of being able to swear in its first democratically elected president, so Ban recommended against imposing sanctions.
"While sanctions may inconvenience their targets, the general effect will be to diminish only marginally the general practices they are designed to curtail," he said. "In most of the eastern DRC they will do little to reduce the use of force in extracting minerals, diminish fraud and encourage responsible corporate behavior."
Ban also pointed to a more general concern about possible U.N. sanctions against the Congo.
"Imposing U.N. sanctions now may be perceived as punitive, whether they target state actors or not and whether they are intended to reflect on the capacity of the state to manage its affairs or not," he said. "This might be another reason why U.N. sanctions may not be advisable at the present time."
Instead, Ban urged the government to reform the security sector and fight corruption, but particularly to tighten up on investors in the natural resource sector by making sure they adhere to regulations.
He called for the private sector to set better business standards itself, while also recommending setting up a cross-border commission to prevent corruption at the frontier.
"The question remains: what is likely to bring more order to the production and marketing of the DRC's natural resources in a way that will allow greater security for the (artisan) miners, less exposure to extortion by armed groups and the assurance of more revenues for the state and its public services?" he asked.
The Kinshasa government must first and foremost institute security sector reform and improve trust and transparency by monitoring and fighting corrupt practices and taking effective action against violators, he said in the report.
The secretary-general's report was itself based on recommendations made by the so-called Group of Experts who visited the DRC late last year to look at the whole issue of sanctions, during which they found that while linkages still remain between armed groups and the exploitation of natural resources, the situation has become ever more complex.
