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Military supplies 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 Avient operating in the DRC.
Theme(s)General policies
Date1 Oct 2003
Host country(ies)Democratic Republic of the Congo
SourceNGO
Industry sectorWholesale 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 DRC which included an annex listing companies who, in their view, had violated the Guidelines. This list included the UK-based company Avient.

The UN Expert Panel based its allegations on a claim that Avient provided military supplies to both the Congolese Army (FAC) and the Zimbabwe Defense Force (ZDF), thus contributing to the conflict in the area. The UN Expert Panel listed the company as "Category 3 – unresolved cases referred to the NCP for updating or investigation".

The UK NCP concluded that the specific instance did not merit further consideration due to the UN Expert Panel's limited evidence to support the allegations against Avient Ltd.

 

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".