Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Avebury (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Thursday, 16 March 2006.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Question: My Lords, presumably it would be the French and Germans who would supply the troops if the request was accepted. Does the noble Lord really think that 1,000 additional troops would be capable of providing security in a region that is as large as western Europe, as has been suggested? What other aspects of the mission are we still discussing with the head of UN peacekeeping operations there?

Answer: My Lords, the noble Lord asks exactly the right question. The contribution of any further forces should be only for purposes that add value to the existing MONUC force on the ground. There is discussion about whether the additional forces on standby might very well assist in guarding the airport and rescue missions, dealing with disturbances in Kinshasa and making sure that they are available for the things that the MONUC forces cannot do on a rapid basis. We believe that there are significant operations of that kind that are worth considering.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 679 c1344
Session: 2005-06
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Lords chamber
Subjects: Armed forces Deployment EU action Peacekeeping operations Democratic Republic of the Congo Elections Security
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk