Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to promote human rights in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The UK is deeply concerned by the human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Human rights violations and abuses include; sexual and gender based violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, extrajudicial killings as well as further restrictions on democratic space.

In the run-up to the December 2018 elections, the UK (alongside UN and EU colleagues) pressed the DRC Government to open up political space, release political prisoners, lift a block on internet communications, recognise peoples' right to peaceful assembly, and refrain from using excessive force against protesters.

On combatting sexual violence, the UK has helped fund Trial International, who provide support for survivors, promote accountability for sexual violence crimes and build local capacity to effectively document, investigate and litigate sexual violence cases.

We continue to encourage the DRC Government to cooperate with the UN Human Rights Council investigation into the human rights abuses in the Kasais area of southern DRC bordering Angola.