The British Government regularly calls for credible elections to take place in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Minister for Africa, Harriett Baldwin, met with Foreign Minister She Okitundu in September and encouraged the DRC Government to ensure elections go ahead. The Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, also met with Okitundu last month and highlighted the importance of allowing international election observers, in order to build transparency and trust in the electoral process. Since 2015, the UK has spent £6.8 million on increasing accountability and transparency around the elections. We have provided funding for national observation through the Justice and Peace Committee. The UK has funded a Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) report into the Electronic Voting Machines and the WFD provided a list of recommendations to CENI. The British Government will continue to call for independent observation for the December 2018 elections.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4210", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "groupedQuestionUIN" : [{"_value" : "HL11189"} , {"_value" : "HL11190"} , {"_value" : "HL11191"} ], "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-15T12:14:36.957Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Democratic Republic of Congo: Elections"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are providing to (1) protect civil society, (2) uphold freedom of expression, and (3) guarantee security for all candidates and voters in the forthcoming elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/738", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Alton of Liverpool"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Alton of Liverpool"} ], "uin" : "HL11224"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1002240", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1002240/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
\u200bThe position of the United Kingdom remains that the rules introduced by the Protocol apply exclusively to conventional weapons without prejudice to any other rules of international law applicable to other types of weapons. In particular, the rules so introduced do not have any effect on and do not regulate or prohibit the use of nuclear weapons.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4210", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-15T12:10:39.807Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Nuclear Weapons"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider that rules introduced by Additional Protocol 1 to the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 apply only to conventional weapons, without prejudice to any other rules of international law applicable to other types of weapons, and in particular do not regulate or prohibit the use of nuclear weapons.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1660", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Judd"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Judd"} ], "uin" : "HL11261"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1002247", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1002247/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
UK diplomacy plays a leading role in addressing a number of conflict situations around the world. For example, we have for several years led the international response to the situation in Somalia; we have played an active role in the Troika (together with the United States and Norway) to address the conflict in South Sudan; we have given important support to the Cyprus negotiations as one of the Guarantor Powers; and we recently co-hosted a high level event in New York focusing on ending the Rohingya crisis in Burma.<\/p>
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC), the UK often leads discussions on a range of conflict and post-conflict situations, including the UN strategy to combat the Lord's Resistance Army in Central Africa; implementation of the peace process in Colombia; resolving post-1991 legacy issues relating to Iraq; as well as the situations in Libya, Sudan and Yemen. In addition the UK plays a leading role in the UNSC on Peacekeeping (particularly reform issues), the Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, and Women Peace and Security, in particular on women's participation and protection in peace processes. The UK's own domestic experience of conflict resolution and mediation enables it to provide valuable support and insights in the furtherance of inclusive peace processes around the world.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4210", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2018-11-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2018-11-15T12:13:54.65Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2018-11-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Conflict Resolution"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government in which countries UK diplomacy is playing a leading mediating, conflict resolution or peace-building role.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/259", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "The Marquess of Lothian"} ], "uin" : "HL11268"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 3, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }