Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is providing to the African Union to assist it in its work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

DFID’s funding to the African Union (AU) includes support for election monitoring, strengthening governance and building the AU’s capacity for early warning in countries at risk of instability, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Through the cross-government Conflict, Security and Stabilisation Fund, the UK supports wider AU work on prevention, management and resolution of conflict including AU mediation efforts in DRC via its Liaison Office in Kinshasa. This is fundamental to promoting poverty reduction as well as strengthening the UK’s national security.