The Fowler Report, released on March 14, 2000, is a
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
report detailing how various companies,
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n and
European governments, including that of
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
and the political wing of
UNITA, violated the
Lusaka Protocol
The Lusaka Protocol, initialed in Lusaka, Zambia on October 31, 1994, attempted to end the Angolan Civil War by integrating and disarming UNITA and starting national reconciliation. Both sides signed a truce as part of the protocol on November 15 ...
as well as UN-imposed sanctions.
Robert Fowler,
Canada's ambassador to the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
, headed the commission that compiled the report,
which raised widespread international concern by highlighting the strong link between the illicit diamond trade and third world conflicts.
UN sanctions
Following the resumption of the
Angolan civil war
The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...
by UNITA, the
United Nations Security Council passed
Resolution 1173 and
Resolution 1176 in 1998, which sought to bring an end to the conflict by imposing sanctions against the UNITA movement, specifically targeting its ability to finance the war through the sale of
blood diamond
''Blood Diamond'' is a 2006 American political war action thriller film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, and Djimon Hounsou. The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds min ...
s.
Sanctions-breaking diamond trade
Despite the sanctions imposed against UNITA, the organisation was able to continue financing the conflict; the UN therefore passed
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1237, which gave Robert Fowler's panel of experts a mandate to investigate how the sanctions were being circumvented. According to the Fowler Report, UNITA used a number of channels to sell or barter diamonds for cash or weapons. In one of the schemes that was identified, Joe de Deker, a former stockholder in
De Beers, worked with the government of
Zaire to supply military equipment to UNITA from 1993 to 1997.
De Deker's brother, Ronnie, was an arms dealer who allegedly travelled with him from
South Africa to Angola, directing weapons originating in
Eastern Europe. In return, UNITA gave Ronnie bushels of diamonds worth US$6 million. De Deker sent the diamonds to De Beer's buying office in
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, ,
Belgium. De Beers openly acknowledges spending $500 million on legal and illegal Angolan diamonds in 1992 alone. The
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
estimates Angolans made between three and four billion dollars through the diamond trade between 1992 and 1998.
The UN also estimates that out of that sum, UNITA made at least $3.72 billion, or 93% of all diamond sales, despite international sanctions.
Support for UNITA
Togolese President Gnassingbé Eyadéma
Gnassingbé Eyadéma (; born Étienne Gnassingbé, 26 December 1935 – 5 February 2005) was the president of Togo from 1967 until his death in 2005, after which he was immediately succeeded by his son, Faure Gnassingbé.
Eyadéma participated i ...
allowed
UNITA to use
Togo as a base of operations. He gave money to relatives of
Jonas Savimbi
Jonas Malheiro Savimbi (; 3 August 1934 – 22 February 2002) was an Angolan revolutionary politician and rebel military leader who founded and led the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). UNITA waged a guerrilla war agai ...
and shipped arms to UNITA militants. The report condemned
Burkinabé President Blaise Compaoré
Blaise Compaoré (born 3 February 1951)''Profiles of People in Power: The World's Government Leaders'' (2003), page 76–77. for sending fuel to UNITA and maintaining a stronger alliance with UNITA than all other African leaders. The
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equat ...
n and
Gabonese governments refueled UNITA airplanes and sent fuel to Angola. The governments of
South Africa,
Zambia,
Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
,
Morocco and
Belgium did not enforce the UN-travel ban on UNITA officials while
France,
Portugal,
Germany,
Switzerland, and the
United States allowed UNITA to maintain offices in their respective countries.
[
]
Impact
The UN had no powers to enforce compliance with the sanctions, so the report instead set out to name and shame the countries, companies and individuals involved, and thereby led directly to the passing of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1295 and the subsequent establishment of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) is the process established in 2003 to prevent " conflict diamonds" from entering the mainstream rough diamond market by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56 following recommendations in ...
Kimberly Process Authority Chairman Is Determined by Member voting (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 55/56).
See also
*United Nations Security Council Resolution 864
United Nations Security Council resolution 864, adopted unanimously on 15 September 1993, after reaffirming resolutions 696 (1991), 747 (1992), 785 (1992), 793 (1992), 804 (1993), 811 (1993), 823 (1993), 834 (1993) and 851 (1993), the Cou ...
References
External links
Conflict Diamonds: Sanctions and War
at United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
{{Foreign relations of Angola
2000 in Angola
2000 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
2000 in South Africa
United Nations reports
2000 in international relations
2000 documents
Blood diamonds