§ Ms Bridget PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the visit by the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the hon. Member for Manchester, Central (Mr. Lloyd), as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to the countries directly or indirectly involved in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [75694]
§ Mr. Tony LloydI visited the Democratic Republic of Congo and other countries directly or indirectly involved in the conflict there from 22–26 February as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy. The objective was to assess progress in the African mediation efforts and explore what more Britain and the international community may be able to do to support these. I met the Presidents of the countries most directly involved—the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, Uganda and Rwanda—senior government representatives in South Africa, Angola and Namibia, and the Secretary-General of the Organisation of African Unity.
I conveyed the same message to all those directly involved in the conflict: the war was one no-one could win; it was damaging their own interests and causing untold suffering for the people of the region; resolving the conflict required an African solution—Britain was ready to do all it could to support this; Britain was working with its partners in the European Union and in the Security Council to help African mediation efforts. I urged them all to show the political will to end the conflict. All sides acknowledged the need for an early negotiated settlement, but none was prepared to withdraw its forces. We are considering what more we can do now to underpin African efforts and to bring about a just, peaceful and lasting settlement.