Seanad debates
Thursday, 21 February 2013
Democratic Republic of Congo: Motion
11:20 am
David Norris (Independent)
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I move:
I have been asked by the Leader to move the motion and I am very happy to do so. I understand it is without debate but I believe I am correct in saying the full motion will be printed in the record of the House, so it will be taken as read. I thank the Leader for his generosity and courtesy in this regard. It is very important that this was discussed by the foreign affairs committee. Some 5.2 million people have died, which is close to the figure in the Holocaust. Certain specific actions are requested by politicians, the international community and the media. I hope this will be useful. Again, I am very grateful to the Leader and I am confident it will be passed unanimously by this House.
That, bearing in mind:- the death of 5.2 million people over a ten-year period from war-related causes, the largest in any conflict since the Second World War;
- the illegal occupation of the city of Goma by the militia known as M23;
- the displacement of some 2.2 million people in the DRC;
- the forced movement of thousands of people to neighbouring countries;
- the 17-fold increase in the number of rapes on civilians between 2004 and 2008;
- the on-going recruitment of child soldiers, some as young as 8 years of age;
- the increasing humanitarian crisis;
- the absence of essential infrastructure like roads, schools and health centres;
- the pillage by militias, mercenaries and traders of the country?s enormous mineral wealth;
- the collapse of the kind of norms that are required for a functioning society.Seanad Éireann calls for:- an immediate end to the conflict and the disarmament of all militias, most particularly that of the M23 group;
- prioritization of and re-engagement with existing political agreements;
- protection of all civilians and the implementation of stabilization mechanisms;
- a new political process to address the drivers of the conflict, one that will involve the European Union (EU), the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the African Union (AU), and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR);
- neighbouring countries most notable Rwanda and Uganda to comply with international law, respect human rights and to disengage from any destabilization activities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo;
- the government of the DRC end corruption and respect human rights;
- a renewed and strengthened mandate for MONUSCO, the UN force in the DRC;
- those alleged to have committed war crimes should not be given refuge and be turned over to the International Criminal Court;
- a commitment to the full implementation of the EU Transparency Directive and Accounting Directives.Calls upon the Minister for Foreign affairs to ensure that:- the resolution of the current conflict in the DRC remains a key objective of its six-month presidency of the European Union;
- and that on-going violations of human rights within the DRC will be raised by the Minister and his officials at to the UN Human Rights Council to which Ireland has just been elected.And given the scale and intensity of the conflict regrets the absence of any significant reporting by Irish and international media of the conflict and calls for greater political and media engagement with the conflict.
Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Is the motion seconded?
Sean Barrett (Independent)
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I second the motion.
Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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When is it proposed to sit again?
Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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At 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 26 February 2013.