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Democratic Republic of Congo

I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Falkirk (Mr. Joyce) for securing this debate. I pay tribute also to his colleagues, the hon. Members for South-West Surrey (Mr. Hunt) and for Wakefield (Mary Creagh), for describing during the first part of this debate their informative and moving journey to the heart of darkness. When the hon. Member for South-West Surrey talked about security being the root of all requirements for the people of the DRC, I wrote ““stability”” on a piece of paper in front of me. I shall discuss four strands of that stability, and it will be interesting to hear the Minister's comments on them. My first point is about political stability and the forthcoming elections. It is ironic that the country is called the Democratic Republic of Congo. The jury is emphatically out on whether it is democratic, and we shall no doubt find out in due course. Although elections are important and a precursor to achieving stability in most countries, they are not always a solution in themselves, as we have learned to our cost in Africa and elsewhere many times before. The elections are necessary, but I hope that we regard them as the start rather than the conclusion of a process. They are a milestone on a journey, but we should not assume that the elections in themselves will achieve the social outcomes that we want. My second point is about funding and the financial contribution of the international community. I n a spirit of bipartisanship, I pay tribute to the British Government for their general enlightened attitude to the DRC and other countries. Among advanced and prosperous western countries, through troops and other means, Britain is seen as taking a lead in putting in place aid and measures that support the stability of a country. I only urge the Government to continue to think imaginatively about how they can lead that process. I do not think that anybody present thinks that the solution to the ills of the DRC lies entirely in increasing the volume of aid that richer western European countries provide; none the less, using money intelligently and in places where it can have the maximum impact is important. The Government must continue to pursue that course. My third point is about the economy. I differ slightly from the hon. Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn) on this matter. The DRC is blessed with a potential source of wealth. No country can succeed unless it is able to create prosperity for its citizens, so I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman that that the wealth must be structured so that it finds its way to the people of that country. However, international companies, including experts based in this city, have a role to play in ensuring that mineral resources and other infrastructure, including transport, are organised so that they can bring maximum benefit to the people of that country. Far from thinking that there is a potential conflict between western involvement and the prosperity of the Congolese, I think that there is potential for a harmonious synergy that would benefit them. My final point about the four strands of stability relates to civil structures. We have already heard from the hon. Members for Buckingham (John Bercow) and for Wakefield about the need to reduce the number of arms available in the DRC, to pay soldiers so that it is in their financial interest to remain attached rather than detached from formal structures, and to integrate militias formally into an overall national force, which is a difficult process. When creating those civil structures, it is essential to reduce corruption in the public and private sectors, so that people have confidence in the institutions that exist to serve them. In conclusion, on behalf of my party, I pay tribute to the Government for the work that they are doing and have done. I hope that the Minister can make further progress on the four areas that I have described this afternoon.