Queen's Speech

Lord Chidgey Excerpts

Wednesday 26th May 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Chidgey]

My Lords, in terms of the United Kingdom’s engagement with the developing world, particularly the African continent, I for one take great pride in our continued commitment to achieving 0.7 per cent of gross national income in the aid budget. Two major respected reports published yesterday—by the Africa Progress Panel, headed by Kofi Annan, and to the monitoring agency DATA—highlight the efforts made by the UK. The United Kingdom is the only G8 country to have delivered on its G8 commitments and be on course to meet the 0.7 per cent of GNI goal by 2013. The United Kingdom continues to be the second largest country contributor of budget support to sub-Saharan Africa and has pledged major sums to the education and agricultural sectors annually over the next five years.

In this short contribution I wish to raise issues for the Government to address in several UK development aid destinations in Africa—for example in Uganda and in Congo—and stress the work of the All-Party Great Lakes Group. I seek assurances on the effectiveness of aid reaching its intended destinations; of evidence that robust audit trails are in place; that anti-corruption, transparency and accountability procedures are embedded; and, most importantly, that funding is granted on the basis of measured effectiveness in achieving project goals for the people intended on the ground, where it matters.

The coalition Government’s programme states:

“We will support pro-development trade deals, including the proposed Pan-African Free Trade Area”.

In the DRC, where the UK is the largest bilateral donor, one of the key elements perpetuating the conflict in the region is the revenue gathered by armed groups engaged in the illegal extraction of the DRC’s minerals. Trading for Peace is an important part of achieving stability, but to see results we must be able to regulate United Kingdom companies to prevent them trading with armed groups. I urge our Government to ensure that strong due diligence standards are in place for UK companies trading ore and refined metals from the Great Lakes region. It is widely accepted that this is inherent in preventing the investments which the UK is making in education, infrastructure and security sector reform being jeopardised.

In the coalition Government’s programme, the Government are committed to providing,

“a more integrated approach to post-conflict reconstruction where the British military is involved … creating a new Stabilisation and Reconstruction Force to bridge the gap between the military and the reconstruction effort”.

In 2007, the United Kingdom signed a 10-year, £700 million development partnership deal with Uganda to help the country rebuild after decades of civil conflict. The peace, recovery and development plan for northern Uganda was initially published with a 2007 to 2010 timeframe. Implementation saw a slow start, with complex funding modalities still being worked out well into 2008. Only in 2009 did progress start to be made, with DfID support. Observers in Uganda and in the international community remain concerned that development in the north of the country—despite significant donor investment by the World Bank, the United States, us, and others—is very slow. Questions are being asked more and more frequently, and with increasing firmness, about where the money is going. I urge the Government to take these concerns seriously and to accept that this is a clear example of the need for transparent accountability and an effective audit trail.

In his opening speech the Minister mentioned Sudan. Do the Government agree with the Sudan All-Party Parliamentary Group that to avoid a contested secession and the risk of a return to full-scale conflict, they and other international guarantors should concentrate now on the January 2011 referendum—in particular, reaching agreement on issues such as citizenship for southerners or northerners settled on the “wrong” side of the border, oil-revenue sharing, border demarcation and crossing rights along the north-south boundary?

Returning to the DRC, reports from Human Rights Watch released in Washington last week confirmed that there has been no let up in the LRA's atrocities since its appalling rampage through north-eastern DRC in December 2009. Between January and early April, 96 civilians were slaughtered and dozens more, mainly children, were abducted. Human Rights Watch is calling on the US Government to swiftly implement new legislation to develop a comprehensive strategy to protect civilians from LRA attacks. Research has confirmed that the atrocities were carried out by LRA commanders reporting to General Ongwen—who, along with two other LRA leaders, has been subject to an ICC arrest warrant, outstanding for nearly five years.

The UN peacekeeping mission in the Congo, MONUC, has few troops in the area and, hampered by poor local roads, rarely leaves town. It is unable to prevent, let alone respond to, the recent attacks. The Congolese and Ugandan armed forces also have a presence in the area but, with poor logistics and communications, they too have been unable to provide adequate security for civilians. Human Rights Watch is calling on the US and other donor nations to help the Congolese improve communications systems in the LRA-affected areas, permit UN peacekeepers and others to respond quickly to attacks and pinpoint where LRA leaders are hiding.

Human Rights Watch claims that depending on the Ugandan army to end the threat of the LRA is a strategy that is not working. It is calling for the US, other Governments in the region and other concerned states to go back to the drawing board to develop new policy options to end the LRA’s violence and, in particular, to find more effective strategies to apprehend the wanted LRA leaders.

MONUC’s recent mandate, UNSCR 1906, expires on 31 May 2010, and the local population are fearful that without MONUC there will be no identifiable security service in the DRC at all. President Kabila continues to press for a full MONUC drawdown by August 2011, prior to the presidential elections. Many observers warn of creating a security vacuum and a return to instability.

As my final observation, I urge that the Government endorse the extension of MONUC’s mandate for a further 12 months and support proposals to broaden its mandate with regard to cross-border LRA apprehension operations. Do the Government agree with the many Security Council members who would like to see MONUC take a stronger role in co-ordinating security sector reform within its commitment to stabilisation?