Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 141: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the degree to which the situation in the Congo has stabilised or improved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33707/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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While the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, remains difficult, there have been some encouraging signs. The major priority continues to be the organisation of national elections early next year, which will mark the culmination of the transition process inaugurated by the 2002 Sun City peace accords. These local, legislative and presidential elections are expected to take place between March and May 2006. Voter registration has generally proceeded well, with more than 19 million people out of an estimated total electorate of 28 million now registered. A referendum on the draft constitution approved by the Transitional National Assembly last May is planned for 18 December 2005.

The successful holding of national elections in the DRC, the first in over 40 years, will be a major undertaking. Substantial international support will be required for the elections, which are likely to cost in the region of $400 million to organise. These elections are important, not only for the future stability and democratic development of the DRC but also for ensuring peace and security throughout the Great Lakes region as a whole. The EU and its member states have made substantial contributions in support of the electoral process, with the European Commission alone pledging some €150 million. I was pleased to announce a national contribution of €500,000 by Ireland in support of the DRC electoral process during my meeting on 19 September with the DRC's Foreign Minister, Mr. Raymond Ramazani Baya, on the margins of the UN General Assembly.

During my meeting with Foreign Minister Ramazani Baya, I urged the DRC Government to accelerate progress towards completion of the transition process, including by speedy adoption of an electoral law to govern the forthcoming elections. We also discussed the still serious security situation in eastern DRC and the need to complete disarmament of the remaining armed militias, who continue to pose a serious threat there. The DRC Government and armed forces are working in close conjunction with MONUC, the UN peacekeeping mission, to confront the armed militias and hasten their disarmament. Pressure on the rebels to disarm has now been stepped up through the imposition on 1 November 2005 of sanctions against selected militia leaders who are judged by the UN Security Council to have violated the arms embargo in force against the DRC. The UN Security Council, through Resolution 1635 on 28 October 2005, has also authorised an increase of 300 in MONUC's strength in order to enhance its capacity for confronting the continued existence of armed militias.

The DRC Government also needs to hasten progress in the area of security sector reform, particularly with regard to completing the creation of a fully integrated national army and police and effectively establishing its authority throughout the DRC. This is particularly important, if a secure environment is to be created for the holding of national elections. The EU is actively supporting the process of security sector reform in the DRC, through deployment of two EU missions. EUPOL offers advice and mentoring to the integrated police unit, IPU, in Kinshasa which the EU has helped establish. A second mission, EUSEC DRC, comprises a small planning team to advise key government ministries in the DRC on all issues related to security sector reform. EUSEC DRC has made considerable progress in its work and is playing a particularly important role in identifying ways to improve administration and command throughout the DRC army and ensure proper payment and rationing of troops.

It is equally important, however, that neighbouring countries, in particular Uganda and Rwanda, do all they can to end the threat posed by the armed militias in eastern DRC, support completion of the transition in the DRC and improve bilateral relations throughout the region. The regional dimension to the conflict remains crucial and underlines the importance of the Great Lakes conference process, the second summit of which is now likely to take place in Nairobi early in the new year. Ireland is an active member of the Group of Friends of the Great Lakes support group, which supports the conference process and was represented by the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Conor Lenihan, at a recent ministerial meeting in New York to discuss preparations for the second summit.