Vol. 537 No. 5
168 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has received a report from GOAL on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; if he is conscious of the role played by Uganda and Rwanda in the affairs of the Congo; if he proposes any changes in the Government's aid programme to Uganda and Rwanda; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17145/01]
I assume the Deputy is referring to the UN panel of experts report, which looked at the involvement of neighbouring states in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC.
The report, which was critical of the two states which most openly co-operated with its investigation, Rwanda and Uganda, while making no comment on the Congo itself, on Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola, has not been accepted by the UN Security Council, which has sought further investigation. The report has been viewed with some criticism by donors operating in Uganda, who see its findings as unbalanced and heavily reliant on hearsay evidence.
Nonetheless, there is a core governance issue arising from foreign involvement in the DRC. The concerns of countries providing assistance to Uganda – Ireland does not have an embassy in Rwanda and its assistance there is limited – have been brought to the attention of the Ugandan authorities, most recently in a meeting in Brussels between the Minister of State and the Ugandan Prime Minister. Arising from this pressure, Uganda has agreed to set up a judicial tribunal, headed by a respected British born jurist, to investigate the report's findings. That tribunal will question all relevant witnesses, including President Museveni himself.
In addition, Uganda is implementing the elements of the Lusaka Accord on the DRC and has withdrawn most of its forces from the region. These measures, taken together, have addressed much of the unease of donors. The most direct evidence of restored donor confidence in Uganda was the decision two weeks ago by the World Bank, which has widespread international support, to provide a credit of $300 million as direct assistance to Uganda. The support is geared at accelerating the process of poverty reduction on which Uganda has an exemplary record.
I note the Deputy's reference to the UN report as a GOAL one. Clearly this is not the case. However, it is the case that the report has been used by John O'Shea of GOAL in an ill-considered campaign against the Irish government's aid programme, Ireland Aid, a significant part of which is implemented in partnership with six governments in Africa. The Irish programme is an outstanding one with a high reputation among fellow donors, partner countries and aid agencies.
