David Miliband

Congo: Setting the record straight

Friday's Guardian led with a piece saying the UK blocked the sending of an EU bridging force to Congo. This is inaccurate. As both Mark Malloch - Brown and I have clearly stated, we are not blocking action; we are instead arguing for coherent international military presences in DR Congo.

The UK co-sponsored UN Security Council Resolution 1843, authorising 3,000 more personnel for MONUC, the UN Force which currently consists of 17,000 soldiers.  We have been lobbying potential troop contributors, offering planning support, and have put  forward a candidate for the position of Deputy Force Commander.

At the Foreign Ministers' meeting at the European Council an important intervention was made by Louis Michel, the Development Commissioner. Speaking from Congo on the phone, he reported the views of both the UN Secretary General's special envoy, Olusegun Obasanjo and the Conglese President , Joseph Kabila. They think that the political process is gaining ground, and that a separate EU force is unnecessary.

We will continue to play a lead role in the multilateral efforts to bring peace and security to the DRC.  That means being consistent and clear in our actions.  We should stop seeing the UN and the EU as alternatives.  They should be mutually reinforcing. 

Posted at 17:35 15 December 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[4]