Written question asked by David Drew (Labour) on Monday, 6 March 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 8 March 2006. It was answered by Ian Pearson (Labour) on Monday, 13 March 2006 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Congo

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made by the Lutundula Commission on the illegal exploitation of resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Answer: The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)'s Parliamentary Commission on the validity of economic and financial agreements made during the 1996–97 and 1998 wars (the Lutundula Commission) completed investigations in June 2005. It concluded that many contracts had been signed illegally or against the interest of the Congolese state, some mining companies were operating illegally and the state's resources had been poorly managed. The report has been passed to the Bureau of the National Assembly. No parliamentary debate has yet been scheduled.We and international partners and non-governmental organisations continue to press the authorities to address the issues raised in the report and to ensure that the DRC's enormous mineral wealth be used transparently and efficiently to benefit the whole Congolese population.

Secondary information