59 CFSP: EU support for the Democratic
Republic of Congo
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| Council Decision amending and extending Joint Action 2007/405/CFSP on the European Union Police Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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| Legal base | Articles 28 and 43 TEU; unanimity
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| Department | Foreign and Commonwealth Office
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 10 June
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| Previous Committee Report | None; but see (30992) —: HC 19-xxviii (2008-09), chapter 13 (21 October 2009); (30900)—: HC 19-xxvii (2008-09), chapter 26, (14 October 2009); (30686 ) 10358/09: HC 19-xx (2008-09), chapter 7 (17 June 2009) and (30667) —: HC 19-xviii (2008-09), chapter 21 (3 June 2009); also see (29722) — and (29734) —: HC 16 xxiv (2007-08), chapters 6 and 14 (18 June 2008), and (28650) —, (28651) —: HC 41-xxiii (2006-07), chapter 19 (6 June 2007)
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| To be discussed in Council | 11 June 2010 Environment Council
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared, but further information requested
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Background
59.1 The original police mission in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (EUPOL Kinshasa) was launched in April 2005 to support the
development of the Integrated Police Unit and played a key role
in the protection of the transitional government, crowd control
and public disorder leading up to the elections in 2006.
59.2 Its mandate was extended and amended in April
2006 to allow a temporary reinforcement to cover the elections
that were successfully held in September 2006, and allowed the
formation, in 2007, of a government which adopted a programme
prioritising reform in the police, the armed forces, and the judiciary.
59.3 Against this background, the EU indicated in
September 2006 that it was prepared to undertake, in close co-operation
with the UN, the co-ordination of international efforts in Security
Sector Reform in order to support the Congolese authorities in
this area. Following two fact-finding missions in October 2006
and March 2007, two Joint Actions were agreed by the Council on
12 June 2007, which aimed:
— to
establish a police mission leading on Security Sector Reform and
its justice interface in the Democratic Republic of Congo (EUPOL
DRC); and
— to
build on, via a new and revised mandate, the substantial progress
already made during the previous two years and continue to contribute
to the integration of the different armed factions in the DRC,
and assist Congolese efforts to restructure and reconstruct the
army, to be known as EUSEC RD Congo.[249]
59.4 Earlier Reports by the previous Committee outline
its subsequent consideration of these two Joint Actions.[250]
59.5 A common concern from the outset of all Ministers
for Europe has been that members of the security sector are the
perpetrators of what has been regularly described as "a large
proportion of violent crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
including rape and human rights violations."
59.6 On 3 June 2009, the previous Committee cleared
a Joint Action amending Joint Action 2007/405/CFSP on EUPOL DRC
and extending it until June 2010. In so doing, it noted that,
although the extension raised no questions in and of itself, and
there was more information on this occasion about activity than
there had been a year earlier, there was still a paucity of assessment
of outcomes, i.e., the extent to which all this activity and expenditure
had produced measurable improvements in behaviour and security.
In particular, in the critical area of violent crime, sexual violence
and human rights violations, the words chosen by the then Minister
for Europe (Caroline Flint) were identical to those of her predecessor
12 months earlier: "EUPOL continues to work with the Congolese
police in this field and to encourage officers to react to incidents
appropriately" — notwithstanding that, a year earlier,
the previous Committee had said that it would have liked evidence
of how effective the mission's advice had been, and how Congolese
officers' attitudes and practices had been changed by the "encouragement"
to which the then Minister referred.
59.7 The previous Committee therefore asked the then
Minister to say something about this, and about the effectiveness
of EUSEC RD Congo, when she submitted an Explanatory Memorandum
on the forthcoming mandate extension of this latter.[251]
59.8 On 11 June 2009, the previous Committee then
considered a proposal for a three month, "no cost" extension
of EUSEC RD Congo's mandate. The then Parliamentary Secretary
at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Chris Bryant) explained
in his 11 June 2009 Explanatory Memorandum that this was to take
account of recent changes in leadership, which meant that more
time was required for further detailed analysis on the needs and
priorities of the Congolese in the field of Security Sector Reform.
He said that:
— "strategic
indicators" would be used to assess Congolese political commitment
in the medium term;
— a
revised General Concept would be formed including possible mission
restructuring and detailed measures of progress to assist further
review of longer term engagement; and
— a
three month extension would allow this work to take place and
permit a better judgement when considering any further mandate
extension.
59.9 On 11 June 2009, in a separate letter, the then
Parliamentary Secretary also responded as follows to the previous
Committee's earlier observations on EUPOL DRC:
"The lack of professionalism, poor discipline
and conduct within the security services is directly related to
poor terms and conditions of service, lack of proper training,
and poor command and control. Human rights training which focuses
on awareness raising and similar interventions around SGBV (Sexual
and Gender based Violence) training must be accompanied by concrete
measures to improve pay, conditions of service, professional training
and strengthen systems for ensuring internal discipline and conduct.
The latter is part of longer term institution-building, to which
EUPOL DRC is a part, to secure behaviour change at an institutional
level.
"Such improvements in the attitudes and behaviour
of the Congolese National Police are inherently difficult to measure.
Changes tend to be incremental, rather than representing a noticeable
step change, and the process of reform is fundamentally affected
by changes in national leadership. However, there are some positive
signs of progress. For example, EUPOL has supported national seminars
with some success to build up the awareness of the Congolese National
Police to policing in a democratic state such as how police should
deal with meetings and public demonstrations. The mission has
also succeeded in pushing forward local ownership of Police Reform
which is a key step towards changing attitudes and behaviours.
The Police Reform Monitoring Committee (CSRP) is now considered
both by the Congolese authorities and by international partners
as truly owned and run by the Congolese.
"Violent crimes, sexual violence and human rights
violations continue to be areas of grave concern in the DRC. For
this reason, the Political and Security Committee requested that
Council Secretariat 'examine the options for strengthened ESDP
action to combat sexual violence and impunity in the DRC in view
of assessing a possible scope of action for EUPOL'. Work in Brussels
in [sic] on-going to discuss further measures that the mission
can implement. It is likely that the Operational Plan will be
adjusted to strengthen the ability of EUPOL DRC to combat sexual
violence and impunity."
59.10 Notwithstanding the then Parliamentary Secretary's
views, the previous Committee continued to feel that it should
not be difficult to measure change in a situation in which, still,
it seemed that a large proportion of violent crime, sexual violence
and human rights violations were committed by members of the Congolese
police and military: either the number of such violations of human
dignity and rights, and the part of the security sector in them,
was falling, or it was not. The previous Committee also asked
the then Parliamentary Secretary if, in due course, he would let
it know the outcome of what the Political and Security Committee
had asked the Council Secretariat to do, and how the Operational
Plan was to be adjusted. It then cleared the extension.[252]
59.11 Subsequently, in dealing with the Joint Action
extending EUSEC DRC from 1 October 2009 until 30 September 2010,
the previous Committee noted that, in her Explanatory Memorandum
of 14 September 2009, the
then Minister for Europe at the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office (Baroness
Kinnock of Holyhead) said that the revised
Joint Action had a greater emphasis on tackling sexual violence
and human rights issues within the army reform process. Additional
staff positions were to be introduced to the mission's structure,
and shared with EUPOL DRC, focusing on Human Rights and Gender
issues and based both in Kinshasa and the cities of Goma and Bukavu,
allowing the mission to have a wide geographical influence. As
well as having several "strategic indicators", the then
Minister particularly welcomed the new initiative to review
mission progress at the six-month point against pre-defined indicators,
which she said was in line with the wider FCO strategy "to
develop more effective international interventions [which …]
will enable the mission to provide a progress report on the development
of the reform of the FARDC and to evaluate the impact of the mission."
59.12 The previous Committee noted that, by the time
this latest extension was completed, the EU would have spent some
€26.9 million on EUSEC RD Congo, and said that the strategic
indicators should confirm whether or not the positive developments
to which the Parliamentary Secretary referred in June, and which
seemed fundamental to any further progress, had been consolidated.
The previous Committee also
felt that it would have been helpful
to have had some details of the "pre-defined
indicators" that
the then Minister welcomed, which it assumed were the "measures
of progress to assist further review of longer term engagement"
to which the Parliamentary Secretary had referred in June. In
particular, the previous Committee said, it would have been interested
to know how they would measure progress
on the problem upon which the project would now be more focussed,
i.e., sexual and gender based violence.
It still could not see why, when a large proportion of violent
crime, sexual violence and human rights violations was said to
be committed by members of the Congolese police and military,
it was said to be difficult to quantify the number of such violations,
and the part of the security sector in them, and thus to see whether
or not they fell: if this was more complex than it had imagined,
the previous Committee said that it would have been helpful if
the then Minister had put the Committee straight. The previous
Committee noted that there was to be a review in six month's time,
and accordingly asked the then Minister to report its findings
and recommendations and comment on this particular matter.[253]
The previous Council Joint Action amending Joint
Action 2007/405/CFSP on EUPOL RD Congo
59.13 The revised Joint Action outlined the financial
implications for the period 1 November 2009 to 30 June 2010
(the first four months, from 1 July — 31 October, were of
no extra cost).
59.14 In her Explanatory Memorandum of 13 October
2009, the then the Minister
for Europe at the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office (Baroness Kinnock
of Holyhead) said that the estimated financial
amount to cover EUPOL DRC expenditure from 1 November 2009 to
30 June 2010 was €5,150,000, broken down as follows:
- Personnel Costs: €2,961,258
- Missions: €220,910
- Running Expenditure: €1,169,280
- Capital Expenditure: €715,515
- Representation: €14,000
- Contingencies: €69,037.
59.15 With the UK currently contributing 17% to the
CFSP (Common Foreign and Security Policy) budget, the then Minister
said that the cost to the UK would be €875,500. The then
Minister further explained that the funding for the eight month
period would be used to purchase armoured vehicles and accommodation
in the east, to support the new multidisciplinary teams, as well
as ongoing mission expenditure.
59.16 The then Minister again recalled the contribution
of the Congolese Police or Armed Forces in SGBV crimes within
the DRC and again said that the revised Joint Action would allow
EUPOL DRC to place a greater emphasis on tackling SGBV through
its work advising and assisting the Congolese reform their National
Police Force. She continued as follows:
"Two multidisciplinary teams of experts will
be deployed to Goma and Bukavu in the eastern DRC in order to
provide advice and assistance on combating SGBV and impunity as
well as assisting with the stabilisation process. Although based
in the east of the country the teams competence will cover the
whole of the DRC territory. One of the main tasks of these multidisciplinary
teams will be to help ensure that legal services are provided
for victims of sexual violence and offenders are prosecuted.
"The mission works in close cooperation with
EUSEC DRC (the EU's Army Reform mission to the DRC) which has
also recently been given a greater focus on combating SGBV. By
giving EUPOL DRC a greater emphasis on tackling SGBV as well it
will allow a more consistent approach to be taken on SGBV simultaneously
across both the Congolese Police and Armed Forces. The UK government
supports this increased emphasis as a means to achieve wider stability,
and increased faith in the Police and Armed Forces. This is also
an area that we believe the ESDP mission can make a meaningful
difference."
59.17 The then Minister concluded by saying the Joint
Action was to be agreed at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council
on 19 October 2009.
59.18 In his letter of 16 October 2009, the then
new Minister for Europe (Chris Bryant) said that he welcomed the
previous Committee's interest in the ESDP mission mandates, and
regretted that "due to the recent change of Ministerial portfolios,
we were not able to provide you with the Explanatory Memorandum
in sufficient time for it to be considered at your meeting on
15 October (sic)". As a result, he said, he would have to
agree for this Joint Action to be considered at the Agriculture
and Fisheries Council on 19 October without prior debate at Committee.
He continued as follows:
"The Council Secretariat must proceed with the
implementation of the Joint Action, which provides the mission
with a greater emphasis on tackling sexual violence and, importantly,
provides the necessary budget for the mission to continue its
activities from 1 November 2009 until the expiry of its mandate
on 30 June 2010.
"While there are Council meetings towards the
end of October (Justice and Home Affairs on 23 October, and the
GAERC on 26 October), were I to delay lifting the UK scrutiny
reserve until 22 October, the Council Secretariat would not have
enough time to properly administer the renewal of contracts. This
would result in a gap in funding beyond 31 October 2009 until
contractual positions were resolved. As the mission is looking
to place a greater emphasis on tackling sexual and gender based
violence and is looking to deploy two multidisciplinary teams
to the eastern DRC to take this forward, this could have a serious
operational impact."
59.19 The then Minister then said that he was taking
this opportunity to provide further information on the levels
of sexual violence committed within the DRC and the benchmarks
being used by the mission to measure the success of the work undertaken
to tackle this serious issue:
"The problem of rape and sexual violence is
one of the most serious aspects of the conflict in the DRC. Sexual
and gender based violence is used systematically as a weapon of
war by the Congolese Army and by militia groups to humiliate and
intimidate women and men of all ages. Conflict-affected areas
continue to be the hardest-hit, with South and North Kivu in the
eastern DRC recording the most cases. The UN Population Fund reported
5,204 cases during the period of January to June 2008 and the
Congo Advocacy Coalition announced over 2,200 cases of rape recorded
in North Kivu in the month of June 2008 alone. The more recent
reports from the mission itself have indicated that the number
of victims for the first half of 2009 (2,587) has exceeded the
total cases reported for the whole of the previous year (2,383).
The US Secretary of State visited the DRC in August 2009. Secretary
Clinton's visit highlighted the issue of sexual violence and reignited
the international community's interest.
"These figures reflect that the level of sexual
crime in the DRC remains a serious concern. However, as my predecessor
explained in the Explanatory Memorandum submitted on 13 October,
the amended Joint Action now grants EUPOL DRC a greater emphasis
on tackling sexual and gender based violence through its work
assisting the Congolese to reform their National Police Force
(PNC). Under the mission's new operational plan, the success of
the mission will be measured against the following benchmarks:
- "the reinforcement of
the PNC's capacity to deal with the victims of sexual violence;
- "participation in a project to help map
the location of sexual violence incidents committed by the police
force;
- "the development of an anti-sexual violence
cell within the PNC; and
- "the implementation of a code of conduct
for members of PNC which reinforces the unacceptability of SGBV."
The previous Committee's assessment
59.20 The previous Committee did not receive either
his predecessor's Explanatory Memorandum until 15 October or his
letter until 19 October. Nor, with the Committee due to meet on
21 October, did it see why delaying submission of this document
to the Council until 23 October, rather than 19 October, would
not have provided the Council Secretariat with enough time to
renew the relevant contract. If the documents were ready on 19
October, the previous Committee noted, then a delay of three days
would not have prevented their timely issue; and if they were
not ready, ditto.
59.21 As to the contents of his letter, the previous
Committee said that it was obviously worrying that, notwithstanding
all the EU's efforts thus far, the level of sexual and gender-based
violence had increased so dramatically in 2009.
59.22 The previous Committee accordingly found it
odd that, if "one of the main tasks of these multidisciplinary
teams will be to help ensure that legal services are provided
for victims of sexual violence and offenders are prosecuted",
this was not included among the benchmarks to which the Minister
referred.
59.23 The previous Committee also noted that the
then Minister made no mention of any six-month review period here,
as was the case with EUSEC RD Congo. It nonetheless asked that,
when he reported on this review (c.f. paragraph 59.12 above),
he also provided an assessment of how well the four benchmarks
and the task referred to in the previous paragraph had been achieved.
59.24 The previous Committee then cleared the document.
The Council Decision
59.25 With the mission's current mandate due to expire
on 30 June 2010, the Council Decision extends the mandate of EUPOL
DRC by three months until 30 September 2010.
59.26 In his Explanatory Memorandum of 10 June 2010,
the Minister for Europe at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
(Mr David Lidington) says that, under the three month extension,
the mission's tasks will be unchanged and will be to:
— contribute
to the reform and restructuring of the Congolese National Police
by supporting the implementation of a viable, professional, and
multi-ethnic/integrated police force, with the full participation
of the Congolese authorities; and
— contribute
to improved interaction between the police and the wider criminal
justice system.
Legal Basis
59.27 The Minister says:
"Articles 28, 31(2) and (3) of the Treaty of
the European Union are likely to be the legal basis of the Council
decision. At present the Council decision's legal base is shown
as Article 14 of the Treaty of European Union which was the legal
base for adopting joint actions before the Treaty was amended
by the Lisbon Treaty. Joint actions no longer exist today. The
budgetary impact statement, however shows the legal basis to be
Articles 28, 31 (2) and (3).
"Voting Procedures: Qualified majority voting
applies where the legal basis includes Article 31 (2)."
The Government's view
59.28 The Minister goes on to note that the DRC
remains a focus of international attention "because of the
potential for conflict not least caused by the poor humanitarian
situation throughout the majority of the country." He continues
as follows:
"The Congolese police and justice sectors are
weak and impunity for major crimes, including rape and murder,
is common with justice rarely delivered for victims. Without international
assistance parts of the DRC could slide back into a state of conflict
which would destabilise the wider region."
59.29 Security Sector Reform (SSR) in order to root
out one of the causes of instability in the DRC is, the Minister
says, therefore a high priority for the International Community:
"Over the last twelve months EUPOL DRC has struggled
to fully achieve its mandate. The mission has taken forward some
work to tackle sexual and gender based violence by organising
training courses to equip Congolese police officers with skills
to better deal with sexual violence cases. However, understaffing
and security concerns have hindered further efforts in the East
where the majority of sexual and gender based violence crimes
are committed."
59.30 Despite this, the Minister says:
"the Government supports a three month extension
of the mission until 30 September 2010. Security Sector Reform
in the DRC is essential to stability in the country, but there
are many international actors involved and they are not always
coordinated effectively. The key player is the UN Peacekeeping
Mission to the DRC (MONUC) whose new mandate has just been adopted
by the UN Security Council. The details of its implementation
and exact focus on SSR should become clear in the next few months.
It will be important that the EU does not duplicate UN efforts
so if, for example, it is decided that the UN mission will have
a greater focus on police reform, we will need to judge the EUPOL
DRC mandate in that light. Negotiations regarding MONUC's new
mandate have been delicate and, as the second largest peacekeeping
mission in the world, the way forward for MONUC must be decided
before discussions begin on the future focus of EUPOL DRC. The
three month extension will facilitate this and allow for a more
informed decision to be taken on the longer term future of EUPOL
DRC."
59.31 The Minister then goes on to explain that the
Council Secretariat proposes to undertake a strategic review of
EU engagement in the DRC this summer to look at EU coherence,
including between EUPOL DRC and "the separate and better
performing EU Security Sector Reform mission (EUSEC DRC)",
which focuses on reform of the Congolese Armed Forces:
"The review will look to assess the effectiveness
of EU activity so far and identify areas where the EU can add
most value to international efforts in the future. The three month
extension will give the UK, the EU and other Member States the
opportunity to look at international support with the intention
of improving the EU's effort. Over this period, the UK will assess
carefully the DRC's SSR and police reform needs, particularly
in view of the refocused UN mission and the EU's strategic review.
We will look to analyse the level of the EU's impact and what
resources are required to have a greater impact. If the strategic
review fails to identify an area where continued CSDP engagement
in police reform can add sufficient value going forward we will
push to close EUPOL DRC."
59.32 The Minister concludes by saying that:
— the
estimated total budget for the three month extension of EUPOL
DRC is €2,020,000 which will be funded from the EU's Common
Foreign and Security Policy budget, within which the UK share
will be around £275,000; and
— the
Council Decision is planned to be agreed at the Environment Council
on 11 June 2010.
Conclusion
59.33 We clear the document. In so doing, we recognise
that the Dissolution and consequent delay in setting up the European
Scrutiny Committee militated against the Minister withholding
agreement to this Decision until it had been scrutinised by the
Committee. We do not object, on this occasion and in these circumstances,
to his agreeing to its adoption prior to scrutiny.
59.34 But we also note that the Minister has nothing
to say about the reviews into both EUPOL DRC or EUSEC RD Congo
referred to by his predecessors and about which the previous Committee
asked to have information prior to the presentation of further
proposals extending their mandates. There is also no mention by
the Minister of the mission's impact since the last extension,
though the implication is that it has been limited, to say the
least. However, rather than raking over the coals, we ask the
Minister to deposit whatever document emerges from strategic review
of EU engagement in the DRC, so that the House may have an opportunity
to consider the Government's views prior to the presentation of
any further Council Decisions.
249 See (28650) -, (28651) -: HC 41 xxiii (2006-07),
chapter 19 (6 June 2007) for our consideration of that Joint Action.
Back
250
See headnote. Back
251
See headnote: (30667) - HC 19-xviii (2008-09), chapter 21 (3 June
2009). Back
252
See headnote: (30686) 10358/09 -: HC 19-xx (2008-09), chapter
7 (17 June 2009). Back
253
See headnote: (30900)-: HC 19-xxvii (2008-09), chapter 26, (14
October 2009) Back
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