Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 38: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position that obtains in the Democratic Republic of Congo in view of the announcement by the authorities in Kin-shasa that 2,000 Hutu refugees are to return to Rwanda from the Democratic Republic of Congo; and if progress has been made in the reported difficulties being experienced by the United Nations in obtaining peacekeepers. [5209/09]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 152: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if adequate pressure is being brought on those responsible for atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5485/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 38 and 152 together.

I remain deeply concerned by the situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Even after the end of the civil war in 2006, sporadic fighting continued in the Kivu provinces of eastern DRC between ethnic Tutsi militias, principally the CNDP, and ethnic Hutu militias, including the FDLR. The FDLR includes many Rwandan Hutu fighters who fled Rwanda to escape punishment for crimes they committed during the 1994 genocide. There is broad international agreement that tackling the FDLR is the key to ending the persistent instability in the region, since their presence helps the CNDP to build support.

Renewed heavy fighting broke out in North Kivu in August 2008 between the CNDP and the armed forces of DRC. An unknown number of civilians were killed by both sides, many women were raped, and 250,000 people were forced to flee their homes, bringing to over 1 million the number displaced in North Kivu. The CNDP declared a ceasefire in October 2008, and talks began in Nairobi in December between representatives of the DRC government and the CNDP, under UN and African Union facilitation.

Although these talks are continuing, they have been somewhat overtaken by events on the ground. In January 2009, the Rwandan and DRC governments agreed to put aside the mutual hostility which has persisted since previous Rwandan incursions into DRC in support of ethnic Tutsis, and their armed forces began joint operations against the FDLR. Almost simultaneously, the leader of the CNDP, Laurent Nkunda, was arrested in Rwanda on foot of a joint Rwanda-DRC operation. Previous to this development, Rwanda's Tutsi leadership had been widely accused of tacitly supporting Nkunda in his struggle against the FDLR in eastern DRC.

Under the terms of this new phase of Rwanda-DRC cooperation, it was agreed to repatriate FDLR fighters to Rwanda. According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), many former FDLR combatants are presenting themselves to MONUC, the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC, for voluntary repatriation. A growing number of Rwandan civilians, many of whom fled after the genocide of 1994, are also emerging from remote areas of eastern DRC seeking to repatriate, and the UNHCR is stepping up its transit operations to accommodate this increased demand.

We will continue to monitor closely the impact of the joint-Rwanda DRC operations, particularly from a humanitarian perspective. I strongly urge the Rwandan and DRC authorities to ensure that the protection of civilians is paramount, and that the work of humanitarian agencies and the UN can continue without impediment.

January 2009 marked an historic development in international law, when Thomas Lubanga, a former Congolese militia leader who is charged with the use of child soldiers, became the first person ever to face trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, I am troubled by reports that the Rwandan and DRC armed forces are working with Bosco Ntaganda, a CNDP commander wanted for war crimes by the ICC. Ntaganda must face justice, and I urge the DRC authorities to enforce the arrest warrant against him. Similarly, Joseph Kony, the commander the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Ugandan rebel group, is also wanted by the ICC, and must be held accountable for the atrocities he has visited on the people of the region, including the recent massacres of an estimated 900 people in eastern DRC. I note that the governments of Uganda, DRC and Southern Sudan are currently engaged in a joint military operation with the aim of apprehending Kony.

Ireland and our EU partners strongly support MONUC, and we have welcomed the unanimous adoption by the UN Security Council in November last of a resolution which authorised the reinforcement of MONUC to allow it to better protect the civilian populations. Ireland contributes three members of the Defence Forces to MONUC as Military Liaison Officers. The issue of the deployment of troops to reinforce MONUC is still under consideration by the UN. To date, offers of additional resources to the mission have been received from a number of countries, and a decision on their deployment will be taken by the UN.

The Government has responded rapidly to the humanitarian dimension of the crisis in DRC, providing over €8.5 million in funding to DRC in 2008. Our total support to the country since 2006 comes to over €31 million.