Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights DRC: inter-ethnic violence in Ituri, published on 10 January; and what steps they are taking to avert any such violence.

The UK remains concerned by the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) highlights a worrying trend in intercommunal violence in Ituri province. British Embassy Officials regularly raise human rights and rule of law with the DRC Government, and have urged it to investigate and hold to account those accused of committing acts of violence, including members of the security forces. The Foreign Secretary raised the importance of tackling insecurity with President Tshisekedi on 20 January.

The UK works to improve the human rights situation in DRC, including by helping to educate human rights defenders and by promoting conflict resolution. The UK helps fund the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office, which tracks human rights abuses and violations in DRC, as well as TRIAL International which works to bring perpetrators to justice. In Ituri specifically, our work with the Stabilisation Support Unit of UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO promotes intercommunal reconciliation.