Written question asked by Lord Judd (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Triesman (Labour) on Tuesday, 19 July 2005.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Arms Embargo

Question: In the light of the recent report by Amnesty International, Democratic Republic of Congo: Arming the East, what action they are taking about airlines, arms dealers and brokers operating from or resident in the United Kingdom; and whether they will initiate moves in the United Nations Security Council to renew and strengthen the embargo on arms exports to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Answer: We take seriously any allegations of UK entities’ involvement in the illicit supply of arms to embargoed destinations and refer any evidence promptly to the relevant UK investigating authorities. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs investigated these claims in 2003 and found no evidence of offences by UK entities.All UK entities involved in the sale or brokering of military-listed and dual use goods continue to be subject to UK strategic export controls.The UK was instrumental in securing UN Security Council Resolution 1596, which extended the arms embargo to cover the whole of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and provided for targeted measures against embargo violators. We are currently working with the Security Council to designate violators of the UN embargo on the DRC to be subject to a travel ban and assets freeze, and to renew all Security Council measures on the DRC before their expiry on 31 July 2005.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 1143; 673 c209-10WA
Session: 2005-06
Subjects: Arms trade Export controls UN resolutions Sanctions Democratic Republic of the Congo
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk