Written question asked by Lord Hylton (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Triesman (Labour) on Friday, 18 May 2007.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Mining

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they are providing support for the efforts of the Ministry of Mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to (a) enforce the Congolese mining code; (b) implement the extractive industries transparency initiative; and (c) establish a commission to review the terms of 60 existing international mining contracts.

Answer: We support the extractive industries transparency initiative (EITI) national committee in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is charged with taking forward EITI implementation. We have offered to work with the DRC to provide political, technical and financial assistance in taking this initiative forward. The mining code was written and is being implemented with the assistance of the World Bank and is widely regarded as a useful framework. The Congolese Government have created a commission to review existing mining contracts, which is supported by the Carter Centre and with offers of help from the World Bank and the Belgian Government. It has not sought our assistance.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 3761; 692 c63WA
Session: 2006-07
Subjects: Contracts Codes of practice Development aid Enforcement Mining Democratic Republic of the Congo Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk