Dan Boyle
Question:109 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the Government's policy in relation to the Democratic Republic of Congo. [23162/02]
Written Answers. - Foreign Conflicts.
The cornerstone of the Government's policy in relation to the Democratic Republic of the Congo is to support the implementation of the Lusaka ceasefire agreement, all related agreements and all relevant UN Security Council resolutions. The Lusaka agreement provides a framework for a negotiated settlement which is fair to all parties, which respects the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the DRC, which upholds democratic principles and human rights and which takes account of the security interests of the DRC and all other countries of the region. During its period of membership of the UN Security Council, Ireland has been particularly concerned to ensure the full implementation of the three strands of the Lusaka agreement, the inter-Congolese dialogue, the disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration, repatriation or resettlement (DDRRR) of negative forces, and the full withdrawal of all foreign troops from the territory of the DRC. In 2001 and 2002, Ireland participated in ambassador level Security Council missions to the DRC and the wider region aimed at securing the implementation of the Lusaka agreement.
As regards the withdrawal of foreign troops, under the terms of the Pretoria and Luanda agreements signed in July and September 2002 between the DRC Government and the Governments of Rwanda and Uganda respectively, all Rwandan troops have reportedly now left the territory of the DRC, while Uganda is scheduled to complete its withdrawal by mid-December – although a small number of Ugandan troops will remain behind with the DRC's consent to ensure security in the Rwenzori mountains which border the two countries. Troops from Namibia, Angola and Zimbabwe, which supported the Kinshasa Government, have also left the DRC. The withdrawals have been observed by MONUC, the UN observer mission in the DRC, in accordance with the terms of its mandate. MONUC is also in the process of verifying whether Rwanda has withdrawn all its forces from the DRC. Two Irish Army officers are currently serving with MONUC, which is also tasked with assisting in the voluntary disarmament of the negative forces in the DRC, including Rwandan opposition forces linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide and Burundian rebels. DRC President Joseph Kabila has recently begun to take steps to cease support for these negative forces and Ireland hopes that the Security Council will soon be in a position to authorise an increase in the strength of MONUC to support the disarmament process. Disarmament of the negative forces should lead to a reduction of hostilities in the east of the DRC and simultaneously address the security concerns of Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi which led to the 1998 war.
Following the partial success of the inter-Congolese dialogue negotiations in Sun City, South Africa, earlier this year, the main Congolese parties have resumed talks in Pretoria, South Africa, on an all-inclusive transitional government in the DRC and all sides are confident that an acceptable power-sharing arrangement can be agreed by the end of this year. At the Security Council, Ireland has stressed the need for all Congolese parties to enter the negotiations in a spirit of openness and compromise. Agreement on a power sharing government is key to the peaceful resolution of the wider conflict in the DRC. To this end, we support the efforts of the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the ICD, Mr. Mustapha Niasse. As a sign of the importance Ireland attaches to the ICD, in 2001 the Government contributed €127,000 to the office of the facilitator of the dialogue, former Botswanan President, Ketumile Masire. We hope that the ICD will pave the way for a return of democracy, good governance and respect for human rights in the DRC.
Despite the progress made in implementing the Lusaka agreement, a number of serious problems remain to be resolved in the DRC, not least the security situation in the east and north east of the country. In response to a number of worrying recent developments, including an upsurge in ethnically motivated violence, the Security Council agreed a presidential statement on 18 October expressing strong concern at the rising tensions in the east of the country, condemning the intensification of ethnically targeted violence in the Ituri region and stressing that no government, military force or any other organisation or individual should provide military or other supplies or any other form of support to any of the groups involved in the fighting in eastern Congo. Also of grave concern is the deplorable human rights and humanitarian situation in the DRC, particularly in the east of the country. As many as 3.5 million people have died since the current conflict broke out in mid-1998, mainly as a result of disease and malnutrition. Ireland has maintained a focus on human rights and humanitarian issues in the DRC since joining the Security Council and we have consistently called on the parties to refrain from human rights violations and to respect the provisions of international humanitarian law. This year Ireland has contributed €2.3 million in humanitarian aid to the DRC.
An issue of further serious concern in relation to the DRC war is the illegal exploitation of the DRC's resources. A panel of experts set up by the UN Secretary General at the request of the Security Council has published three reports on the exploitation of the DRC's resources and has highlighted the link between such exploitation and the continuation of the conflict. At the Security Council, Ireland has highlighted the unacceptable fact that exploitation has become both a means and a motive for sustaining the conflict, regardless of the initial motivations which led to the conflict. We have expressed particular concern at the flagrant and systematic violation of the human rights of the people of the DRC in the pursuit of natural resource exploitation. We have consistently stressed that any action taken on foot of the panel of experts reports should support the primary objective of implementing the Lusaka ceasefire agreement. Without a resolution of the broader conflict in the DRC, it will be difficult to put an end to the plundering of resources.
During the open meeting of the Security Council on the final report of the panel of experts, held on 5 November, Ireland supported the panel's recommendations, including those on the need to provide incentives for countries which cease the illegal exploitation of resources and adhere to the peace agreements they have signed. We have also supported the establishment of a mechanism to monitor the exploitation of the DRC's resources on an on-going basis in a bid to discourage those who would seek to continue conflict for personal gain. While not underestimating the challenges that lie ahead for the people of the DRC, the Government is confident that with the support of the international community and the full co-operation of all parties involved in the conflict in the DRC with the MONUC mission, peace can finally be achieved in the DRC and the wider Great Lakes region.