Written question asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench) on Wednesday, 14 March 2018, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 28 March 2018. It was answered by Lord Bates (Conservative) on Tuesday, 27 March 2018 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) the findings of the report by the International Rescue Committee A Silent Crisis in Congo: The Bantu and the Twa in Tanganyika that between July 2016 and March 2017 more than 400 villages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been destroyed, and (2) the findings of the report by UNHCR that in 2017 (a) 1.7 million people across the DRC were forced to flee their homes, (b) 3.9 million remain internally displaced, and (c) more than 600,000 refugees from the DRC are spread over 11 African countries.

Answer: The UK government has read the report by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and by the UNHCR. We agree with the findings of the reports however, the needs have since increased significantly and the humanitarian crisis is now the biggest in Africa. 13.1 million people now require humanitarian assistance. 4.5 million people are internally displaced – the highest number in Africa. Over 680,000 refugees from the DRC are now in over 14 other countries in Africa.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: HL6341
Session: 2017-19
Subjects: Armed conflict Refugees Internally displaced people Democratic Republic of the Congo
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk