§ Lord Juddasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they are taking to encourage appropriate international agencies to increase their support for refugees and displaced people in and from the Chechen Republic before the advent of winter; and what financial resources they will make available to support this work. [HL3999]
§ Baroness AmosDfID has so far disbursed £2.4 million of humanitarian assistance through the United Nations Agencies and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to help displaced people in the North Caucasus. We have recently committed a further £0.5 million to the ICRC for the coming winter, and expect to make further contributions to the UN Consolidated Appeal, which runs until 31 December 2000. I will be pleased to write to my noble friend with details of this contribution when it is finalised. This direct assistance is in addition to the UK's 16 per cent share of the activities of the European Commission Humanitarian Office.