Written question asked by Mark Oaten (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 8 March 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 11 March 2010. It was answered by Ivan Lewis (Labour) on Thursday, 11 March 2010 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the merits of providing assistance for accountability mechanisms in Democratic Republic of Congo in respect of reported human rights abuses, with particular reference to the participation of children in armed conflict.

Answer: Accountability is essential for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) armed forces to be able to provide civilian protection. My noble Friend the Minister for Africa raised the issue of impunity for human rights abusers with Prime Minister Muzito and President Kabila when in the country last month. We have lent support to developing the justice sector in DRC. We are providing about £80 million over five years to increase accountability of the security sector through strengthened oversight mechanisms, technical assistance and training.Through the EU advisory and assistance mission for security reform in the DRC we are funding a biometric census project which provides accurate personnel figures for the military of the DRC regiments and allows child soldiers to be successfully identified and removed.

Secondary information