§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what discussions her Department has had with the Governments of(a) Rwanda and (b) Uganda regarding illegal exploitation of natural resources by their citizens in the DRC; and what action these Governments plan to take; [77060]
(2) what discussions her Department has had with the Governments of (a) Rwanda, (b) the DRC, (c) Uganda and (d) Burundi regarding border controls and their ability to monitor the flow of natural resources with particular reference to (i) diamonds and (ii) cotton. [77061]
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§ Clare ShortThere have been regular discussions with the Governments of Uganda and Rwanda at both ministerial and official levels since the first UN panel report on exploitation of resources in the DRC was published. We have urged both Governments to work openly and constructively with the panel team and take seriously any allegations of exploitation. The final UN panel report was issued on 18 October. The Government of Uganda have already established a judicial enquiry into the allegations in a previous report, and this report is due on 15 November. The Government of Rwanda have rejected this report, as they did earlier ones, on the grounds that it is politically motivated and lacking in corroborative evidence. While we share many of the Government of Rwanda's criticisms of the report, we will continue to encourage the Government of Rwanda to take action to address the panel's accusations in an open manner. We believe the most important focus for future work is achieve peace and work to help the DRC and other Great Lakes countries put trade and the exploitation of mineral resources on to a well-regulated, transparent basis.