Democratic Republic of Congo

HC Deb 17 March 2003 vol 401 cc510-1W

Mr. Key

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department has had with leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo regarding allowing the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo unlimited access to(a) areas and (b) evidence for its investigations. [103114]

Clare Short

The Government have made repeated calls for all parties in the DRC to allow free access to MONUC to fulfil its mandate. We have interceded with different authorities on a number of specific occasions to support the work of MONUC in humanitarian and peace-keeping operations. This has included pressing the Forces Armees Congolaises (FAC) to allow inspectors access to military airports; the Rassemblement Congolaise pour la Democratie-Goma (RCD-G) to allow humanitarian access to the conflict afflicted Haut Plateau; and the Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo (MLC) to assist investigation into alleged human rights abuses committed by its forces. We continue to press all parties to facilitate MONUC's access to all areas of the DRC and to co-operate fully with its investigations.