Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the sources of funding and support for the M23 armed group and its role in the displacement of approximately one million people in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The UK continues to monitor the security situation in eastern DRC. The consequences of the conflict are immediate and severe and are resulting in large scale human displacement and humanitarian suffering. We welcome the comprehensive reports issued by the UN Group of Experts (GoE) on the DRC - we stand behind the GoE and the critical work they do. We note the human rights abuses and the violations of international humanitarian law by armed groups, including M23, as documented in the report and we call for an end to all external support to armed groups. We continue to urge all parties to the conflict to honour commitments made during regional peace process meetings, including the cessation of hostilities and agreed withdrawal by M23. We are fully supportive of the work carried out by the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO and note their vital work in providing protection for many of those displaced. The UK firmly believes the regional Nairobi and Luanda diplomatic peace processes provide the best means by which to achieve a lasting peace in eastern DRC and offer them our full support.