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Democratic Republic of Congo

Answer

Around half of DFID’s £54 million programme to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) this financial year supports humanitarian work. We are supporting the UN High Commission for Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross, UNICEF, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs Rapid   Reaction Fund, Oxfam, International Rescue Committee (IRC) and other NGOs to support refugees, displaced persons and their host communities, including those affected by recent violence in eastern DRC. As just one example of what this support provides, the UK’s £683,000 grant to IRC is providing vaccinations against preventable diseases, increased access to water and sanitation and improved food security for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities in South Kivu.The Secretary of State for International Development this week announced that we would continue to increase our humanitarian support to DRC—up to £30 million in 2006 and the same in 2007. Most of this will go to the UN action plan. The money will be put at the disposal of the humanitarian co-ordinator in DRC who will be able to distribute the funds quickly and flexibly as priority needs dictate. One of the action plan’s main elements is the protection of vulnerable populations, including refugees. It will support emergency health, sanitation and nutritional provision, as well as supporting the safe and dignified return of Congolese refugees from neighbouring countries. It will also help to rebuild the lives of returnees, including the rehabilitation of basic services and provision of basic household goods.The UK also works at several levels to help put an end to the continuing pockets of conflict in DRC. We are a member of a group of ambassadors and senior UN and EU representatives supporting the transition to democracy in DRC (CIAT—Comité International d’Accompagnement de la Transition). CIAT has consistently pushed the Congolese transitional government for faster progress in a number of key areas, notably preparations for elections, security sector reform, disarming militias and ending corruption. We are pressing the transitional government to work together to make the democratic process a success, and avoid a return to conflict.The presence of foreign armed groups in eastern DRC—such as Rwandan ex-FAR/Interahamwe and various Ugandan groups—is a continuing source of instability. We support the UN’s more robust stance against these groups and have consistently urged the DRC’s neighbours to work constructively in support of the peace process in the DRC. We have also emphasised with the UN and Congolese authorities that all operations against militia groups must take into account the potential impact on the local population.Ill-disciplined and underpaid members of the Congolese armed forces (FARDC—Forces Armées de la République Democratique du Congo) are also creating insecurity for local communities. The Secretary of State for International Development visited DRG in October last year and stressed, in discussions with President Kabila and other members of the Government the need to provide properly for DRC’s security forces. He offered £3 million of UK support for accommodation, water and human rights training, but on the condition that the Congolese Government pay and feed their troops first. The UK is providing two members of the EU Security Sector Reform Mission in DRC to assist with the army integration process. The UK and international partners also formally presented a dossier to President Kabila on 23 January this year cataloguing the most serious abuses carried out by FARDC soldiers, urging that the soldiers concerned be brought to justice.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

4048; 679 c207-9WA

Session

2005-06

Subjects

Army Armed conflict Development aid Humanitarian aid Refugees Internally displaced people Peace negotiations Democratic Republic of the Congo

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk