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Dept for International Development

Answer

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many (a) UN Force and (b) MONUC representatives are in the Democratic Republic of Congo; what plans there are to send British troops there; what plans there are to increase the number of MONUC representatives; and if she will make a statement. [77641] Clare Short: On 30 September the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) comprised 4,309 uniformed personnel (military observers, troops and civilian police), and 1,185 civilian personnel. Five of these military observers have been provided by the United Kingdom. There are no plans to send British troops to the DRC. Last month the Secretary General of the UN (UNSG) produced a report on MONUC's activities, which is now being discussed by the UN Security Council. The principal recommendation of the report is that the cap on MONUC's military personnel be increased from 5,537 to 7,500. We are encouraging the UNSG to get MONUC more focused and effective on DDR, particularly in eastern DRC. We warmly welcomed the Pretoria and Luanda Agreements which Rwanda and Uganda respectively signed with DRC as major breakthroughs towards peace in the region. We are working closely with all three governments, and that of Burundi, as well as the South Africans and the UNSG who are the third parties in the Pretoria Agreement, to ensure full implementation of these Agreements.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

77641; 392 c33-4W

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Armed forces Deployment United Nations Democratic Republic of the Congo

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

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