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I refer to the British High Commissioner’s letter of 14 August 2014 which set out the UK’s position on the FDLR. As the voluntary disarmament process has reached its mid-point review, I want to reiterate the UK’s commitment to ensuring all armed groups in the Eastern DRC, including the FDLR, no longer pose a threat to peace and security in the region. The FDLR are an armed group espousing genocide and should be treated as such. Rwanda’s constitution is rightly clear – there is no room for groups espousing a genocide ideology. The region, including Rwanda, is playing a crucial leadership role. The choice they have presented the FDLR is clear: disarm voluntarily now or face military action. We fully support this. To achieve our shared objective of neutralising FDLR requires three further steps: Firstly, if the FDLR’s stated desire to disarm is to mean anything, they must immediately stop blocking the disarmament process on the ground. Secondly, we must ensure the SADC and ICGLR deadlines are met. Thirdly, military action must indeed be the inevitable consequence if FDLR do not disarm voluntarily by the SADC deadline. The UN Security Council, on which both Rwanda and the UK sit, has given a clear and unequivocal mandate to MONUSCO to take action against armed groups. It is important that all in the region and MOUSCO work together to discharge their responsibilities. The FDLR continues to pose a threat to the region, not least to Rwanda’s vision of a prosperous and secure future. The UK is committed to doing all it can to ensure these steps are taken and no one in this region lives in fear from armed groups. I hope the Rwandan government will do all it can to ensure these steps are taken when it attends the regional review of the voluntary disarmament process in a few weeks time. It can be sure of the UK government’s support on this. Dr Luke Beaumont, Acting British High Commissioner to Rwanda