To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of the reports that the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has accepted an invitation from the Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony to start peace talks; and if she will make a statement. (80287)

President Museveni has indicated a willingness to talk to the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) with a view to ending the conflict in northern Uganda. However, we are not aware of any reports that President Museveni has accepted a specific invitation from the LRA to start peace talks. We have seen the media reporting of the meeting between Kony and the Government of Southern Sudan and the reports that they delivered a message from Kony to President Museveni, but the contents of the message have not been shared with us.

The Government of Uganda, along with the Governments of Sudan and Democratic Republic of the Congo, is obliged to give effect to the International Criminal Court arrest warrants, for the arrest of five LRA Commanders, including Joseph Kony.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance her Department is offering to (a) Uganda, (b) the southern Sudanese and (c) the Democratic Republic of the Congo to arrest the Lord’s Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony and his commanders for whom the International Criminal Court has issued an international arrest warrant; and if she will make a statement. (80288)

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued warrants for the arrest of five Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) Commanders, including Joseph Kony, in October 2005. Responsibility to implement the arrest warrants lies in the first instance with the states on whose territory the five LRA commanders are believed to be, namely, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Sudan. We have not received any requests for assistance in this regard from the Governments of Uganda, the DRC or Sudan.

The UK is a strong supporter of the work of the ICC in its efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity. We continue to urge the Governments of Uganda, the DRC and Sudan to fulfil their commitments to co-operate with the ICC, and to help implement the warrants for the arrest of the five senior LRA commanders, including Kony, as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment she has made of reports that South Sudan’s Vice President (a) recently met the Lord’s Resistance Army Chief Joseph Kony, (b) gave Mr. Kony $20,000 and (c) delivered a message from Mr. Kony to Mr. Museveni; and if she will make a statement. (80285)

We have seen the media reporting of the meeting between Joseph Kony and the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and are aware of the associated reports that they have provided financial assistance. We have also seen reports that the GoSS delivered a message from Kony to President Museveni, but the contents of the message have not been shared with us.

We continue to urge the Government of Sudan to fulfil their commitment to co-operate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and to help implement the warrants for the arrest of the five senior Lord’s Resistance Army commanders, including Kony, as soon as possible. Our ambassador in Khartoum pressed Salva Kiir, President of the Government of Southern Sudan, on the Government’s ICC obligations on 10 May 2006. The UK-led UN Security Council delegation, which visited southern Sudan on 8 June 2006, also raised the issue with President Kiir.