Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 98: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is willing to call on the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mr. Luis Moreno Ocampo, to prioritise the investigation and prosecution of gross and systematic incidents of sexual violence in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as part of the ICC's ongoing investigation into the situation in the DRC, both in order to bring an end to the widespread perception of impunity for sexual violence prevalent in the DRC and also to reform the international community's ambivalent and apathetic attitude to the issue of rape and sexual violence in conflict situations. [24976/07]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 329: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the ongoing situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25481/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 329 together.

The renewed conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) poses a threat to the transition process in the country and needs to be addressed urgently. A number of armed militias are preying on the population in North and South Kivu, and attempts by government troops to resolve the situation by force risk visiting further suffering on the people of the region. The EU has urged the Congolese authorities to seek a negotiated solution.

My EU colleagues and I again discussed the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo earlier this month. Following our discussion, the EU issued a Declaration urging an end to the violence in the east of the DRC and expressing its deep concern in particular over the systematic sexual violence which has become routine in this conflict. The EU expressed support for Congolese Government efforts to develop a national action plan based on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women and armed conflict.

Ultimately, an end to the conflict, followed by the creation of stability and the establishment of the rule of law in eastern DR Congo, will be crucial to ending these horrifying and brutal crimes against women. First, the Congolese Government will need to work towards a political solution, in co-operation with neighbouring countries, including Rwanda. I welcome in this regard the recent meeting between the DRC and Rwandan Foreign Ministers. Security sector reform, demobilisation and disarmament, and ending impunity and establishing an effective, fair and transparent system of justice are also urgently required.

The European Union, including Ireland, is fully committed to helping the Congolese government to tackle these problems. On the ground, the EUPOL DR Congo mission is assisting in police reform, and the EUSEC DR Congo mission is offering guidance on army integration and other security issues. Ireland has provided approximately €15 million for emergency purposes in the DRC since 2005, including almost €8 million so far this year. In 2006, Ireland provided €500,000 to support demobilisation and disarmament in the wider Great Lakes region. Establishing stability and justice will be a slow process, but the EU is committed to providing assistance in the long term.

Although progress is frustratingly slow, there is growing international recognition of the seriousness of rape and sexual violence in conflict situations. Since the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in 1993, structures have been established which can begin to combat impunity for these and other serious crimes, starting with the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on violence against women in 1994. UN Security Council Resolution 1325 of 2000 called for special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, emphasised the need to end impunity for such crimes, and urged the inclusion of women in peace processes and post-conflict rehabilitation.

The Rome Statute, which in 2002 established the International Criminal Court (ICC), includes rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution and other acts of gender based violence in its definition of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The entry into force of the Rome Statute has provided the international community with a permanent basis on which to act in relation to sexual violence in conflict situations. The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of four country situations where the ICC has currently decided to act, and the first person to be arrested by the ICC was a Congolese national, who was arrested in 2006 in connection with the use of child soldiers. Just last week, a second individual, Germain Katanga, was arrested in Kinshasa and flown to the Hague to face charges of murder, sexual enslavement and recruiting children as soldiers.

The Rome Statute provides that the Office of the Prosecutor shall act independently, and must not seek or act on instructions from any external source, including from states. It would therefore not be appropriate for me to call directly on the Prosecutor to act on a specific issue. However, the Office of the Prosecutor has actively engaged in a dialogue with States Parties, intergovernmental organisations and NGOs on the development of its overall prosecution policy. Ireland closely monitors the reports of the Prosecutor to the Assembly of States Parties to the ICC and to the UN Security Council.