Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on reports of recent massacres in Beni and the North Kivu region in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Government is deeply concerned by the reports of mass killings in Beni. During my visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in August, I raised the ongoing violence in eastern DRC with Maman Sidikou, Head of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in eastern DRC (MONUSCO). In addition, our Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, regularly discusses the Beni situation with the MONUSCO leadership and the DRC Government. The EU Foreign Affairs Council Conclusions of 17 October reiterated the EU’s profound concern at the situation in Beni and reminded all involved of the UN sanctions regime for those responsible for serious human rights violations. Most recently, our representative on the UNSC visited eastern DRC last week to explore what more MONUSCO can do to prevent future killings.