Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I will echo the Tánaiste's sentiments as we are all under some time pressure with prior commitments this evening.

I share the widespread concern that Joseph Kony remains at large in central Africa. I welcome recent public initiatives to highlight the fact that he has not been held to account for the atrocities which he and his so-called Lord's Resistance Army, LRA, committed over two decades in northern Uganda and the wider region.

In 2005, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Joseph Kony and other leaders of the LRA on 33 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. These are charges of the utmost gravity and it is essential that Mr. Kony appear before the court to answer them. We strongly support the work of the International Criminal Court in seeking to bring him and his collaborators to justice. Ireland, both directly and as a member of the European Union, provides ongoing support, including funding, for the court and for its work. We also support regional efforts, in co-operation with the United Nations, to implement a comprehensive peace building strategy which aims to combat the activities of the LRA in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan.

Northern Uganda suffered more than any other area from the appalling violence of the LRA in the years up to 2006, when the group moved into neighbouring countries. Ireland has been providing humanitarian support to the people of the area for well over a decade. Uganda is one of the priority countries for Ireland's aid programme and we have a commitment to the provision of long term strategic assistance there. As part of our overall programme, we have committed to providing some €22.5 million between 2010 and 2014 to support the Ugandan Government's programme for the north of the country to ensure recovery from the disastrous effects of two decades of war.

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