Ciarán Cuffe
Ceist:428 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the action he has taken and intends to take to address the ongoing tragedy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [19821/03]
Vol. 571 No. 1
428 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the action he has taken and intends to take to address the ongoing tragedy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [19821/03]
Progress continues to be made towards the establishment of peace and stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC. In July, the new transitional government comprising representatives of the government of President Kabila and of the main Congolese armed groups met for the first time and in August, the interim parliament was officially inaugurated. I welcome the meeting on 25 September between the DRC, Burundi, Uganda and Rwanda in the presence of UN Secretary General Annan in which the countries agreed to refrain from interference in each other's affairs and to prevent arms shipments to warring groups in the eastern area of the DRC.
In June, Operation Artemis was deployed to the eastern town of Bunia to stabilise the situation there as at the time it was spiralling downwards with serious consequences for the civilian population. This EU-led operation, the first to undertake implementation of Petersberg Tasks outside Europe, was deployed at the request of the United Nations Secretary General and on foot of UN Security Council Resolution 1484. In September, the EU-led emergency multinational force, Operation Artemis, handed over control of Bunia to a strengthened United Nations Mission in the DRC, MONUC, having fulfilled its mandate of restoring stability to the town. Ireland contributed five army officers to Operation Artemis and a proportionate share of the costs.
At the same time, the situation in the Ituri region and the North and South Kivus continues to be a source of concern. It is imperative that the newly formed transitional government establish its presence throughout the country and, in particular, in this north-eastern region of the DRC. To this end, I welcome the decision by the transitional government to send 3,000 police officers to the Ituri region. I also welcome the release of European development funds totalling €205 million to support the transitional government in institution-building, constitutional reform and the strengthening of the rule of law, as well as funding for health services and debt relief.
In July, the General Affairs and External Relations Council reiterated its determination to deploy all its instruments in support of the political process under way in the DRC. To this end, the EU is committed to providing support for the work of the Ituri interim administration and the Ituri pacification commission, support for the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration process and the launch of a local reconciliation process. The Council also asked High Representative Solana, and the Commission to consider, inter alia, support for the police force in Kinshasa and support for the electoral process. The Council issued a reminder that perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide cannot go unpunished and urged all parties to refrain from any act contrary to the cease-fires agreement, in particular in the eastern part of the Congo.