Great Lakes (Hansard, 31 March 2004)

§ Hilary Benn

The Great Lakes region is emerging from 10 years of conflict, from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda to five years of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in which appalling human rights violations were committed and which involved, amongst others, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. There has been real progress but expectations of progress in reconstruction must be seen in this context.

The UN Secretary General is assisting preparations for an International Conference to address all the issues arising from reconstruction within the Great Lakes region. The UK fully supports this and will assist as appropriate.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a transitional national government was inaugurated in July last year. It brings together the main warring factions in a power-sharing arrangement. This is a major step towards providing an environment in which reconstruction can take place. Its task is to take the country to the first democratic elections in 30 years in 2005–06. It has also started to reconstruct the country but the challenge and needs are huge given the high levels of poverty, dilapidated infrastructure and continuing ethnic tension.

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In Rwanda, in the context of the events in 1994 and the reconciliation challenges posed since, progress towards national reconstruction has been remarkable. In order to deal with the large numbers of accused "génocidaires" in prisons throughout Rwanda, the Rwandan Government introduced a traditional system of community justice to handle the lower categories of crime. The Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme (RDRP), which co-ordinates the demobilisation, reinsertion and reintegration of ex-combatants, has led to the demobilisation of 46,000 soldiers since 1997. 2003 saw the culmination of the transition period marked by a referendum on a new Constitution and the election of a new government—the first pluralistic elections in Rwanda's history. Despite mixed reviews from some election observers, the election process represented a significant milestone in Rwanda's democratic evolution.

Uganda has benefited from a period of relative internal stability since 1986. Significant progress has been made in relation to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The HIV/AIDS MDG was achieved in 1996 and Uganda is on track to meet the income poverty MDG, which requires that only 28 per cent. of the population be living in income poverty by 2015. High economic growth has been achieved over a sustained period through sound economic policies, favourable terms of trade, and the positive effects of rural livelihood diversification. The latest data suggests 38 per cent. of the population currently live below the national poverty line compared to 56 per cent. in 1992. Much of this success has been achieved through the implementation of the Government's Poverty Eradication Action Plan. This is now being revised, and will be the basis for future poverty reduction activities. The current conflict in northern Uganda could negatively affect the progress that has been made. We are monitoring this situation closely.

Burundi's three-year transition from civil war to peace and a democratically elected government is due to be complete in November this year. However, conflict still continues between the government and the FNL, the remaining rebel force. The international community, within which the UK is playing an active part, is helping Burundi achieve the goal of a fully comprehensive ceasefire, prepare for elections, and begin the process of demobilising the combatants and reintegrating the bulk of them into civilian life.

DFID fully supports all the countries of the Great Lakes region in their efforts towards reconstruction, with programmes in 2003–04 of £20 million for the DRC, £37 million for Rwanda, £64.5 million for Uganda and £11.6 million for Burundi.

We are also encouraging the normalisation of regional relations. We have facilitated regular dialogue between Rwanda and Uganda. We have urged the governments of Rwanda, Uganda and DRC to work up good neighbourly relations as the basis for national and regional stability. In this respect, we welcome the signing in New York on 25 September 2003 of a Good Neighbourly Pact, which included commitments by the governments that all support for armed groups should end and that there should be no involvement in any illegal exploitation of natural resources of the DRC.