The Africa Commission see Marginalization and Conflict Trade as key threat to the Continent's Peace and Security

Our Common Interest, the report of the Commission for Africa was launched on 11 March 2005 by Tony Blair, the Commission's Chair. In the report, commissioners argue the need to tackle the problem of conflict resources, as part of conflict prevention and resolution. The commission also recommends that the United Nations set up a separate body to deal with conflict resources.

In the Introduction, under the heading "The need for Peace and Security"; the commission points to marginalization and conflict trade as key to understanding conflict in Africa:

"Weak institutions and poor governance are risk factors, as are authoritarian rule, poverty and inequality, and the exclusion of minorities from power. States with high levels of corruption and low levels of accountability seem particularly prone to violence. So do economies which are dependent on one or two primary commodities for most of their income. There is a strong link between oil and other mineral wealth and the risk of conflict. Tension over access to land, water and other less lucrative but vital resources is also a factor. And, of course, group identities - such as tribalism, ethnicity or religion - often come into play in the competition for power....To all this is added the vast quantity of weaponry which is now readily available right across Africa."

The Commission makes specific recommendations on a number of points, including conflict trade:

"Oil, diamonds, timber and other high-value commodities all fuel Africa's conflicts. Governments use money from their sale to fund increased military activity, at home and abroad. Rebel groups loot oil fields or mines, or extort cash from the firms who operate them. Both sides even sell resources which are still in the ground - pledging advance rights, known as 'booty futures', as the security for loans to buy more arms. All this makes wars last longer and more difficult to resolve."

The argument is similar to Fafo's conflict trade analysis, which argues that access to natural resources or other forms of wealth can intersect with conflicts over inequalities between groups, or conflicts over power and identity.

>> Read more on our website on conflict trade

>> See more from The Africa Commission

>> The issue is elaborated in the report's chapter 5 - The need for Peace and Security

>> In a separate development, Fafo's Mark Taylor and Christian Ruge published an op-ed in Norwegian main newspaper Aftenposten, on liability risks for Norwegian companies operating in war-zones and occupied territories.

>> For recent developments on Business and International Crimes - click here