Let me begin by thanking Special Envoy Xia, Ambassador Caholo, and Mr Mahtani for their briefings today, as well as the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission for the written advice provided to the Council on the Great Lakes region. I will focus this intervention on the security dynamics in the region.

The United Kingdom remains extremely concerned by the fragile security situation in the Great Lakes region – in particular, increased violence as a result of greater activity by armed groups including, the ADF, CODECO, RED Tabara, and the re-emergence of the M-23, and the reported links between the ADF and IS Central Africa Province. These are all stark reminders of the need to address the security vacuum in the eastern DRC.

We also remain concerned about the humanitarian situation in the Great Lakes region, with large-scale displacement of over 16 million persons, violations of international humanitarian law and human rights, mainly as a result of violence in eastern DRC. And, we are particularly concerned about the protection of civilians as a result of intercommunal violence in DRC’s Ituri province, including the recent targeting of IDP camps.

The multidimensional challenges facing the Great Lakes region require a multidimensional response. The United Kingdom welcomes the positive trend of enhanced diplomatic outreach and dialogue among countries in the region. This includes steps towards normalisation between Rwanda and Uganda and the recent regional heads of State Conclave on Eastern DRC hosted by President Kenyatta in Nairobi.

We call upon countries in the region to intensify these efforts in order to improve regional cooperation, and turn commitments into tangible action to address shared security challenges, improve humanitarian access, and to reduce violence.

I also call upon Special Envoy Xia and the ICGLR to continue to work in close coordination, including with MONUSCO, in support of the countries of the region to tackle the threat posed by M23 and other armed groups, to foster confidence building amongst the states of the region, and to enable the implementation of the UN action plan for the Great Lakes.

The final point I would like to make is on natural resources, whose illegal exploitation, as we’ve heard across the Council today, are a source of funding for armed groups and a driver of conflict across the Great Lakes region. We strongly support the designation of sanctions on those individuals and entities who are found responsible for the exploitation of natural resources.

We will continue to work with the international community, including through the DRC sanctions committee, to ensure those individuals and entities are held accountable for their actions.

Thank you.

An unknown soldier of an unknown regiment has been laid to rest more than 75 years after he fell serving his country during World War Two. The ceremony took place on Wednesday 27 April at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s (CWGC) Bologna War Cemetery in Italy. The service was conducted by Reverend Mark Chadwick, Chaplain to the British Forces.

The service was organised by the MOD’s Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC) who are known as the MOD War Detectives – a small team based in Gloucester who make every effort to identify British Military casualties.

Following the ceremony, Tracey Bowers, JCCC said:

“It is a matter of great sadness that we have not been able to identify this brave man and bury him in the presence of his family. The battle for Italy was one of the War’s most exhausting campaigns and one often forgotten. His military family is here to remember, mourn and lay him to rest with the honour he deserves.”

Despite extensive research and DNA testing, it was not possible to identify this soldier.

The soldier was found in May 2015 in the location of the “Gothic Line” alongside military items, suggesting he was a British serviceman, killed during the Second World War. Research indicated the soldier could have been killed between 19 to 24 October 1944 and engaged in the fighting along the German defensive line during the Italian Campaign.

The Italian Front was seen to be of secondary importance to the offensive through France and this was underlined by the decision in the summer of 1944 to withdraw many troops from the area for the Allied landings in France. The success in Italy was achieved against a background of over stretched troops, resources and ammunition fighting in a punishing terrain crossed by rivers and mountains during inclement weather.

The Reverend Mark Chadwick said:

“It has been a great privilege and honour to take this service here today and remember the sacrifice that so many made on our behalf”.

The new headstone at the grave was prepared by the CWGC who will now care for them in perpetuity.

CWGC Commemorations Officer, Dave Avery, said:

“Whilst it has not been possible to identify this soldier by name, we are grateful that we can now lay him to rest with his comrades. The burial ceremony today enables us to renew our commitment to those we care for in perpetuity.”

On Thursday 28 April 2022, a special concert to evoke memories of the Kitchener Camp will take place at London’s Wigmore Hall as part of this year’s Yom HaShoah commemoration.

The Kitchener Camp opened in Sandwich, Kent, in January 1939, and saved the lives of 4,000 Jewish refugee men from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Poland. Many of these men had been arrested and imprisoned in concentration camps such as Buchenwald and Sachenhausen following Kristallnacht in 1938. In Britain, the Jewish community and others persuaded the UK Government to relax visa entry restrictions, paving the way for the Kitchener Camp scheme.

The camp was intended to provide sanctuary for a steady flow of refugee men who were then expected to emigrate to Australia, America or Canada. A small number of women, often with very young children, who had gained entry to Britain with domestic visas, were able to temporarily join their husbands; but these were the lucky few. Sadly, most of the men would never see their families again.

The camp operated like a small town and had its own post office, hospital and cinema. Music became hugely significant and as more refugee musicians arrived, a camp orchestra was formed. Such was the orchestra’s reputation that arrangements were made in August 1939 for a live BBC broadcast of one of their concerts. The onset of war unfortunately scuppered these plans. But now, over 80 years later, and around the corner from Broadcasting House, the Wigmore Hall will symbolically stage the BBC Kitchener concert that never took place. With narration from Jon Sopel and Emily Maitlis, and music from the Ensemble 360 String Quartet and the London Cantorial Singers, the concert will honour those who established the Kitchener Camp, as well as the memory of the millions who were not able to find refuge from the horrors of Nazism.

The event will conclude with the awarding of British Heroes of The Holocaust medals to descendants of brothers Jonas and Phineas May, and Ernest Joseph – three men who played pivotal roles in establishing and running the Kitchener Camp.

The British Heroes of the Holocaust medal is awarded by the UK government in recognition of British citizens who helped or rescued Jews or others in the Holocaust; either through extraordinary acts of courage, or by going above and beyond the call of duty in the most difficult circumstances. Since its inauguration in 2010 it has been awarded to 41 individuals.

Coordinated by Learning from the Righteous, the Holocaust Education charity has teamed up with World Jewish Relief, the Jewish Lads’ and Girls’ Brigade, the Association of Jewish Refugees, the ’45 Aid Society, the Board of Deputies and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to present this year’s memorial concert.