Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The force was established in 1999 and there are 17,000 troops from the 20 different countries involved. It is clearly the largest and most expensive UN peacekeeping mission, with a budget exceeding $1 billion, so this is no mean attempt to deal with the problems. It is mandated to use all necessary means to protect civilians from physical attack. It is clearly signalling to the international community that it is overstretched and it has had to reinforce its presence in North Kivu province, cutting back on vital troop presences in other provinces. It fired on CNDP rebels last week in an attempt to halt their advance towards Goma.

From an equipment viewpoint, logistics supports and so on, again there are clear indications it needs additional support. With France holding the EU Presidency, the French Foreign Minister, Mr. Bernard Kouchner, articulated at Monday's meeting the key question in terms of the nature of the response and the obligation to protect citizens in particular situations such as this. He also sent out a clear message that there will be accountability for unacceptable activities by governments as well as armed leaders and so forth, as regards horrendous attacks on civilians.

We will work with both the EU and UN to support regional engagement. The engagement of the regional leaders is the key to stabilisation and ultimately the resolution and the restoration of the Nairobi peace process.

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