Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 32: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the status of relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Georgia. [15388/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the relationship between the Russian Federation and Georgia was seriously affected by the conflict which broke out on 7-8 August 2008 in the Georgian separatist region of South Ossetia and by the decision by the Russian Federation to recognise the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states. Direct contacts have been limited since that time, and neither country retains an Embassy in the other's capital.

In response to the fighting in August, a number of international actors - principally the EU and also the UN and OSCE - have been working to achieve a lasting and peaceful resolution to the conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia. In this regard, Ireland has supported the conflict- resolution efforts of the EU by providing four persons to the EU Monitoring Mission (EUMM). The EUMM, together with the UN and OSCE missions, is part of the international mechanism for monitoring the 12 August ceasefire. Ireland and the EU also provided humanitarian assistance to those affected by the fighting.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, four sessions of peace talks have been held in Geneva under the co-chairmanship of the EU, the UN and the OSCE. This process is an essential part of efforts to implement the agreements reached on 12 August and 8 September between the EU and Russia on Georgia, and I am pleased that some progress has been achieved on the important humanitarian issue of internally displaced persons. During my visit to Georgia on 20-21 November last, this was one of the issues which I particularly highlighted. The fifth round of the Geneva talks is scheduled for 18/19 May 2009.

I am sure the Deputy will share my hope that more recent international developments, and an improved atmosphere between Russia and other international actors, including the EU, will help with continuing efforts to achieve a lasting solution to the situation in Georgia.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 33: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the strength of a group (details supplied) and on who may be backing the group; and the way he assesses the situation on the border regions between Congo, Uganda and Southern Sudan. [15362/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has long been notorious for gross human rights violations it has committed in its insurrection against the Government of Uganda over the last two decades, including murder, abduction, sexual enslavement, mutilation and kidnapping of young children to use as fighters. Several leading LRA figures, including its leader, Joseph Kony, have been indicted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ireland fully supports the work of the Court in relation to such grave offences.

The LRA fled northern Uganda some years ago under pressure from the Ugandan army, and has since based itself in particularly remote, unstable and inaccessible areas of south Sudan, the Central African Republic, and especially the north-east Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Since these areas have little contact with the outside world, it is difficult to estimate accurately the current strength of the group. Most observers believe it currently has between 600 and 1,000 fighters.

The strength of the LRA is known to have been diminished following a December 2008 joint offensive against it by the Ugandan and Congolese armed forces. The Ugandan-led Operation "Lightning Thunder" was launched following the LRA's failure to sign a peace agreement, amid fears that it could resume its campaign of violence, destabilising the wider region.

LRA positions in Garamba National Park in north-eastern DRC were attacked, and Uganda has declared that as a result of the operation, 85 LRA fighters were killed, 385 people were rescued or escaped, the LRA's food supply was destroyed, and its command structure severely disrupted. Tragically, LRA fighters fleeing the offensive launched brutal attacks on the civilian population, in which up to 1,100 civilians were killed. In March 2009, following a meeting between the Ugandan and DRC Presidents, the Ugandan Army began a phased withdrawal of troops from north-eastern DRC, with DRC forces to assume full responsibility combating LRA activity inside DRC's borders.

There have long been allegations that, during the long-running north-south Sudanese civil war, the LRA received support from Khartoum to act as a proxy force against Southern Sudanese forces. Following a 1999 agreement between Uganda and Sudan to cease supporting rebel groups on each other's territory, and subsequent improvements in diplomatic relations, Khartoum denies giving any further support to the LRA; however, the allegations persist. The LRA may also receive support from some members of the ethnic-Acholi diaspora from northern Uganda.

The situation in the border regions between Uganda and DRC remains unstable. In addition to the LRA conflict, a number of other rebel militias are active in DRC's North and South Kivu provinces, where severe violence erupted in August 2008. The situation in the Kivus is significantly calmer now, but a lasting solution is yet to be found, and civilians remain vulnerable to attack, including by some members of the DRC army. Increased cooperation between the governments of the region in combating the causes of instability is an encouraging sign, but an early return to stability is not to be expected.

Ireland strongly supports the work of the former President of Mozambique, Joaquim Chissano, who serves as the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the LRA-affected areas, in his efforts to bring a lasting peace to the region. Ireland has provided significant financial support for negotiations between the Ugandan Government and the LRA in the context of the Juba Peace Process. We have also provided €12.4 million in support to the DRC in 2008, most of it for humanitarian purposes, including for the Kivu provinces. To date in 2009, Irish Aid has allocated over €4.1 million in emergency funding for DRC.