§ The Earl of Sandwichasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any contracts have been signed since May 1997 for equipment or other forms of aid which could in any way support the military forces on either side of the current conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [HL21]
§ Baroness AmosWe have substantial co-operation programmes with Uganda and Zimbabwe, and a smaller programme with Namibia. Our aid effort to Rwanda is at a lower level at present. We are providing only humanitarian assistance to Angola, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In all these countries our aid is provided to support carefully-defined activities which are designed to eliminate poverty. But is it impossible to guarantee that funding provided under our programmes does not indirectly make easier the purchase of military equipment or that goods provided under our programmes are not diverted for military use. We have systems in place to ensure that we make every effort to avoid this, and if we become aware of breaches we take swift action.
In Uganda, Rwanda and Zimbabwe, we have provided assistance to support the establishment of civilian police forces responsible to the communities they serve. In all cases, our assistance has included the provision of equipment. In Rwanda we have helped to rehabilitate their communications infrastructure in an effort to assist with the reintegration of large numbers of returning refugees. We have had no reports of this equipment being used for military purposes. We would view this very seriously.