Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the UN Human Rights Council Resolution to establish an international investigation into violence and human rights violations in the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

On 23 June the UN Human Rights Council agreed by consensus to establish an international investigation into the violence and human rights violations and abuses and violations of international humanitarian law in the Kasai regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The text of the resolution establishing the investigation states that it should be carried out “in accordance with international standards and practice”, which will ensure that the investigation is impartial and independent. During the negotiations the UK worked closely with other members of the Human Rights Council to ensure that a consensus could be found that both ensured the independence of the investigation and recognised the importance of national investigations into the violence.