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Mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Lead NCPUnited Kingdom
Supporting NCP(s)None Selected
DescriptionSpecific instance notified by the UN Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) regarding the activities of De Beers operating in the DRC.
Theme(s)General policies
Date1 Oct 2003
Host country(ies)Democratic Republic of the Congo
SourceNGO
Industry sectorManufacturing, Mining and quarrying, Wholesale and retail trade
StatusNot accepted
Summary

Read the final statement issued by the UK NCP - 2004

In October 2003, a report was issued by the Second UN Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the DRC which included an annex listing companies who, in their view, had violated the Guidelines. This list included the UK-based company De Beers.

The UN Expert Panel based its allegations on a claim that De Beers failed to monitor the compliance of siteholders with the Diamond Trading Company’s Diamond Best Practice Principles, and listed the company as "Category 3 – unresolved cases referred to the NCP for updating or investigation".

The UK NCP concluded that the allegations made by the UN Expert Panel against De Beers were not substantiated. The UN Expert Panel did not specify which provisions of the Guidelines were allegedly breached, failed to give adequate or timely information supporting its allegations and failed to engage in a meaningful dialogue process. Furthermore, the UK NCP concluded that the siteholders’ activities, insofar as they relate to De Beers, were outside the remit of the NCP acting to promote the respect of the Guidelines. 

 

Note: As the UN Expert Panel did not specify which provisions of the Guidelines were breached in this specific instance, it has been classified under "general policies".