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Street Children (Congo)

I join other hon. Members in congratulating the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (Mr. Brown) on securing this significant debate. He set out clearly the main issues that we should consider and debate today. There were many other significant contributions, particularly from my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Mr. Leigh), who powerfully articulated the extent and depth of the near collapse of the governmental infrastructure in Congo. We all hope that the fledgling democratic process that is taking place at the moment will be a new beginning for the country. I am sure that the Secretary of State agrees that the second round of elections at the end of this month will be not the end but the beginning of the international community’s support. The hon. Member for Richmond Park (Susan Kramer) said correctly that there will be great dangers immediately after the election and we hope that the rule of law will be sustained and that the losing party will acknowledge that it has lost and will take a constructive role as a loyal Opposition. However, sadly, that is not the history of Congo. I shall not speak for long because I want the Secretary of State to reply to the many good points that were made, but it is important to state that many factors contribute to the number of displaced children and street children in the capital and elsewhere in Congo. The situation is not a simple one of witchcraft, although that is a significant contributory factor. There have been two civil wars and many children were conscripted into the various armed groups. If I have time, I shall return to that. There has been a sharp deterioration in state services and the hon. Member for Richmond Park rightly highlighted the worrying fall in the number of children in primary education during the past decade and certainly during the past 30 or 35 years. There has been a significant increase in poverty and unemployment, which makes it impossible for parents to afford to look after, feed and clothe their children. Rapid urbanisation and a breakdown in the traditional African support culture have been exacerbated by the conflict, and a significant number of displaced people inevitably find their way to urban areas, which is making the situation more difficult. There has been a significant increase in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and it is estimated that 1 million Congolese children have been orphaned by that disease, while 30,000 children die from malaria each and every year. The Secretary of State will be well aware that a lot more could be done with the provision of bed nets, which are not expensive. An increasingly high prevalence of divorce rates means that children from previous marriages and liaisons are not always welcome in a new marriage. We have heard a lot about the accusations of sorcery and witchcraft and the terrible abuse that takes place as part of that. All that has led to an estimated 250,000 children being homeless in the DRC and 40,000 in the capital. Fifty per cent. of the population are children under the age of 14. The situation has reached crisis point and has been exacerbated by the presidential and parliamentary elections because the political structures have used street children to destroy their opponents’ campaigns and rallies. Therefore, there has been further unacceptable exploitation, often supported and encouraged by the police who, as my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough said, are not remunerated by the state. One area that has not been covered sufficiently during this debate is the reintegration of child soldiers into the community. The Opposition welcome the investment in the multicountry demobilisation and reintegration programme. However, estimates suggest that at least one third of child soldiers—11,000—are not reintegrated with their families and communities. If the Secretary of State has time, will he explain what his Department is doing to try to improve the number of children who are reintegrated? Obviously, there is great suffering, abuse and trauma, much of which needs special mental and medical treatment. It has been estimated that at the end of June 2006 CONADER, which is charged with the reintegration of child soldiers into the community, had not implemented a single community-based economic reintegration project for children, leaving non-governmental organisations to bear the brunt of the burden of the reintegration programme. I thank the NGOs that are operating in Congo for all their hard work. What steps is DFID taking to assist the reintegration, and to ensure that CONADER meets the criteria that were set down and uses its funding properly, for the purposes for which it was intended? What is the time scale for that programme? Corruption is another big issue that must be addressed—my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough made several points about corruption. The structures of the state must be rebuilt and reinvigorated, so that the Government can deliver and implement some of the new legislation that they have been trying to get through, particularly to reform the legislative and judicial system to protect street children. I have a couple more questions for the Secretary of State. What progress is being made to develop the DRC poverty reduction strategy paper and will he encourage the DRC Government after the elections to make a commitment to street children in that poverty reduction strategy? My understanding is that there is no such commitment. In May 2006, only 20 per cent. of the current humanitarian action plan for the DRC had been funded—$682 million was required to fund humanitarian needs and the shortfall could leave 10 million people without the life-saving funding that they require. It would be helpful if the Secretary of State could say what his Department is doing to try to put pressure on others to ensure that that commitment is fully met. For the conflict to come to a complete end, there must be a significant reduction in the number of weapons in circulation in Congo. That requires schemes to collect existing weapons as well as the introduction of tighter controls to stop new weapons entering the country. We were all disappointed with the results of the small arms negotiations in New York earlier this year. What pressure and mechanisms is DFID putting in place to reduce the number of small weapons in circulation in the DRC.? In conclusion, to my mind the key to the problem is improvement in education and putting structures in place to enable street children and others in Congo to be educated to take a fuller part in the development of their country and to enable it to move on from its terrible history, not just of the past 30 years but of the previous 150 years.