Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 May 2013
24. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the most recent discussions held at EU Foreign Affairs Council in relation to the ongoing conflict in the Congo; if funding has been allocated this year for humanitarian aid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23206/13]
View answerThe continuing crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is discussed regularly at all levels within the EU, including at meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council.
I have joined with our EU partners in welcoming the recent progress in efforts to secure a durable solution to the crisis in the DRC. In particular, I have strongly welcomed the Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework Agreement for the DRC and the Region, which was concluded in Addis Ababa on 24 February. The adoption of the Agreement was welcomed on behalf of the EU in a joint statement by High Representative Catherine Ashton and Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, which called on all sides to continue negotiating in good faith and to refrain from violence. This important regional Agreement was reached by the Government of the DRC and ten neighbouring and regional countries. The co-guarantors of the Agreement are the African Union, the Southern African Development Community, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region and the United Nations.
In the UN Secretary General’s own words, a lasting solution in the DRC must have a number of essential elements. It must be anchored in the political will of the leaders of all countries in the region. It must address the structural causes fuelling instability in the DRC itself. It must respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and legitimate concerns and interests of all concerned countries. It also demands the commitment and long-term support of the international community. Lasting peace can only be secured in the DRC if the Agreement is implemented in full and the opportunity it presents is now grasped by all parties involved.
I have welcomed the appointment of Mary Robinson by the UN Secretary General as his Special Envoy for the region, to support the implementation of the Agreement. I have assured her of the full support of Government, and of the European Union. The Secretary General is also proposing the establishment of an Intervention Brigade to address security aspects of the crisis more comprehensively.
Ireland is also responding to the appalling humanitarian consequences of the crisis in the DRC. Since 2009, the Government has provided €42.8 million for the victims of this humanitarian crisis. Last year, we provided over €10 Million in emergency and longer-term development funding to the DRC. In April, I announced a further €3.8 million in funding for UN agencies and NGOs working in the DRC. Of this €3.8 million, some €2 million has been channelled through the Common Humanitarian Fund for the DRC. This is a multi-donor pooled funding mechanism under the direction of the Humanitarian Coordinator for the DRC. It provides quick and flexible funding to UN humanitarian agencies and international and national NGOs on the basis of the needs on the ground. The UN’s Humanitarian Action Plan for the DRC for 2013 provides overall strategic guidance for the Common Humanitarian Fund in order to enable aid organisations to reach nearly 4 million people with urgently-needed food, water, shelter, healthcare and education.
The remaining €1.8 million is being provided to Irish Aid NGO partners working in the DRC. €450,000 is being provided to Christian Aid, €450.000 to Concern, €300,000 to Trócaire and €580,000 to Oxfam (€580,000). It will be used to provide emergency food, water, health and protection to some of the most vulnerable people in the DRC.
