§ Mr. LeighTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the prospects for peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with particular reference to Ituri province. [119059]
§ Mr. MullinI refer the hon. Member to the Statement given to the House on 12 June 2003,Official Report, column 849, by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence (Mr. Ingram).
§ Mr. LeighTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Government has had with the(a) Rwandan and (b) Ugandan Governments regarding the supply of arms to the Lendu and Hema tribes in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [119060]
§ Mr. MullinWe are in regular contact with the Governments of Rwanda and Uganda and continue to call on them, and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to stop all support to armed groups in Ituri. UNSCR 1484 of 30 May demanded "the cessation of all support, in particular weapons and any other military materiel, to the armed groups and militias" and that "all Congolese parties and all states in the region actively prevent the supply of such support".
The UK continues to uphold the EU arms embargo (imposed 7 April 1993), which bans the export of military equipment from the EU to the DRC, and to examine all export licence applications against our national criteria and the EU Code of Conduct.