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Democratic Republic of Congo (Development)

That is a fair point, and I hope that my comments are balanced. I should also pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman, who I know has a keen interest in this subject. I am attempting to be balanced in my comments and am simply saying that DFID has done a good job in the DRC. I commend it on that, but there is much more that all of us can do. The British Government have a role to play as a leader to try to draw together the other nations to ensure that more is done in the region. The hon. Gentleman referred to that point. Time is quite short, so I will move on to talk about peacekeeping, which was mentioned by all hon. Members. As has been mentioned, the United Nations has its largest peacekeeping force in the world stationed in the DRC. There are about 17,000 UN troops and approximately 1,000 police. Although progress has been made, it is clear that the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is spread too thin and is finding it difficult to defend civilians. The hon. Member for Islington, North also raised concerns about the potential crimes that have been committed by the UN. Although I do not want to discuss that in detail because I understand those crimes are being investigated, I would like to make some sensible suggestions about how the UN could do more in relation to peacekeeping. First, we could insist that the Security Council approve peacekeeping missions with rules of engagement designed to protect civilians from grave harm. The Security Council can in theory exercise that authority under chapter VII of the charter, but in the past, Council members have attempted to water down peacekeeping operations. That has meant operations have not always happened when perhaps they should. Secondly, we should challenge UN member states to increase their support for the rapid and effective deployment of peacekeeping missions in the world's most troubled regions, such as the DRC. A report by the US Council on foreign relations released last year summarised the problem. It stated that"““The enduring problem of the UN peacekeeping ability is the inability to field forces in sufficient numbers when it counts.””" Existing forces lack the ability to respond rapidly to emerging crises and suffer from a deficit in military doctrine and expertise to specifically protect civilian populations. The hon. Member for Stroud mentioned that point. Perhaps the Minister could comment on whether he believes Britain should exert leadership by channelling more of its international development budget into funding for training, equipment, and the deployment of a new breed of regional as well as UN peacekeepers? Perhaps we should consider having forces that are prepared to engage in peacemaking in order to prevent massive human rights abuses—that may be a step too far, but it is at least a thought. Thirdly, we must greatly enhance the peacekeeping capacities of regional organisations. We should begin with the African Union. The UN charter is clear on that point, under chapter VIII article 53, the Security Council has the authority to support the efforts of regional organisations committed to promoting international peace and security. Will the Minister say whether he feels enough is currently being done in that area? Perhaps finally the Minister could outline whether he feels that the current level of UN peacekeepers is adequate and whether he believes greater work should be done in investing in mentoring schemes for the police and army, as mentioned by the hon. Member for Stroud. As we know, a new Government were elected in 2006 and despite heavy fighting, democratic elections took place. Notwithstanding the comments of the hon. Member for Islington, North, since their election, the DRC Government have promoted a policy of containment and appeasement. In line with international wishes, they have highlighted the importance of holding free and fair elections. It remains a continuing problem that unless we can reintegrate some of those militia forces into the DRC army or demobilise them completely, they will continue to contribute to the conflict. Following the signing of the Goma agreement between the Government and 22 armed militias, the Government have set up a peace programme for eastern Congo—the Amani programme. They have appointed Abbé Apollinaire Malu Malu, a Catholic priest, to spearhead the efforts towards peace. That has been seen by many in the DRC as an important stepping stone towards peace in eastern Congo, especially north and south Kivu. However, to date, the Amani programme has achieved very little. It is crucial that the DRC Government and the international Government work together to move from rhetoric on paper to strong action. The DRC Government have recently published the poverty reduction strategy paper—PRSP—which will be partly funded by the country assistance framework. The CAF is a common strategic approach for economic assistance to the DRC in the post-election period. It has been drawn up by key international donors and the DRC Government. The PRSP emphasises the need to break with past practices to ensure a dramatic improvement of living conditions throughout the country as a condition for sustained peace and eventual economic recovery. The PRSP builds on the 2001 interim PRSP and enjoys broad support among all key constituencies. What is most appealing to me regarding the PRSP is the manner in which it has been drawn together. Each district produced its own PRSP drawn up by local consultation with faith-based organizations, labour unions, non-governmental organisations, women's groups, youth associations and community representatives. Those were then amalgamated into provincial-level PRSPs and were eventually made into the national PRSP. In total, around 35,000 people participated in drawing up a grass-roots based development programme. We should congratulate the DRC Government on that. We should also congratulate DFID on the role that it played in achieving that aim. One hopes that we can achieve the same in Afghanistan where a similar process is taking place. The aims of the PRSP are: to promote good governance and consolidate peace; to consolidate macro-economic stability and economic growth; to improve access to social services and reduce vulnerability; to combat HIV/AIDS; and to promote community dynamics. Those are all worthy aims, but I should be grateful if the Minister outlined exactly how DFID will continue to channel its funds to ensure that they are met.