Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said today the Government is to provide an additional €1 million in funding for emergency relief in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where a recent upsurge in fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Mr Martin said he is deeply concerned at the “grave humanitarian crisis” posed by the unrest in the eastern province of North Kivu and urged the governments of DRC and Rwanda to engage in peace talks as a matter of urgency to bring stability to the region.
He said: “The escalation in violence last week significantly worsened an already grave humanitarian crisis. The people of the eastern DRC have suffered appallingly over many years.”
“Even before this latest upsurge in violence there were already over 850,000 people displaced in North Kivu. It is estimated that a further quarter of a million people have now been added to this figure,” he added.
Minister Martin welcomed efforts by the United Nations, the African Union and the EU to engage the parties in talks.
EU foreign ministers were briefed at a meeting in Marseilles this morning by their French and British counterparts who have just returned from a visit to the region.
The Irish Government has allocated some €31 million in humanitarian assistance to the DRC over the past three years.
