Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 57: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo with particular reference to the hardship experienced by the international community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31956/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The EU is closely following the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as that country recovers from the effects of the brutal 1996-2003 civil war. While much of the country has achieved a degree of stability, several localised conflicts have continued, most notably in the east. These conflicts have in many cases been characterised by an appalling degree of brutality, with large-scale attacks on the civilian population and widespread sexual violence.

At present, the security situation in the North and South Kivu provinces in Eastern DRC is precarious. This region was recently the scene of serious fighting between ethnic Tutsi militias and the armed forces of both the DRC and Rwanda. The humanitarian fall-out of this insecurity is immense, with reports of a massive increase in violence against the civilian population. Current estimates place the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region at 1.6 million. I am greatly concerned by reports that the work of the international humanitarian community has been impeded by the worsening security situation. I strongly urge all parties to protect the civilian population of North and South Kivu and to allow MONUC, the UN mission to the DRC, and humanitarian organisations there to carry out their work without interference.

The EU is working to promote a negotiated end to the conflicts which persist and to develop the capacity of the Congolese state to protect its people. It fully backs the work of MONUC to which Ireland contributes three members of the Defence Forces as military liaison officers. The EU's Special Representative for the Great Lakes region, Mr. Roeland van de Geer, leads the Union's efforts to promote the stabilisation of eastern DRC. The EU also has two ESDP (European Security and Defence Policy) missions in the country, which provide assistance to the DRC authorities on security sector reform and police reform.

The EU is the largest humanitarian donor to the DRC, and in 2009 has allocated €45 million to address the needs of vulnerable populations there. The UN also plays a major role in addressing humanitarian needs in DRC. For our part, Ireland has been able to respond quickly to the humanitarian dimension of the crisis in DRC. An airlift of emergency relief supplies was made to eastern DRC in December 2008. Thus far in 2009, Irish Aid has allocated more than €3.7 million in humanitarian funding to the DRC through UN and NGO partners, bringing our total humanitarian support to the country since 2006 to over €26 million. We also have two members of the Rapid Response Corps on 6 month deployments with the UN in the DRC.