§ 48. Mr. Armstrongasked the Lord Privy Seal what were the annual contributions made by Her Majesty's Government to the United Nations international children's emergency fund and the United National refugee programme, respectively, in the years 1974 to 1979; and what contribution is to be made in the current year.
§ Mr. Neil MartenSubject to parliamentary approval, in 1980 Her Majesty's Government will contribute £4.3 million and £5 million to the regular programmes of the United Nations international children's emergency fund and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees respectively.
Tables of contributions in the years 1974 to 1979, together with those to special appears and special projects of the two agencies, will, with permission, be published in the Official Report.
§ Mr. ArmstrongBearing in mind the extreme poverty and social distress under which millions of people are living is the Minister satisfied that he is bringing to bear on that problem the vision and idealism that it deserves if we are to honour our obligations and commitments? Will the hon. Gentleman accept that it is a great shame to talk of cuts in the allocation to UNICEF, for instance? Will he take steps to increase the allocations so that we, may be proud to be British and continue our commitment to deprived people throughout the world?
§ Mr. MartenIt is not for me to say whether I have the idealism. That is for others. With regard to our UNICEF contribution, 1979 was an exceptional year, and our contribution was in support of the international year of the child, organised by UNICEF. In 1978, we gave £4.5 million, and the figure for 1980 is £4.3 million. That is a slight reduction, but it is not a figure of which we need be ashamed. As a nation we should be 1122 proud of what we do for developing countries.
§ Mr. Kenneth LewisWill my hon. Friend press the United Nations to give more support to Thailand, which at present has a particular problem with Cambodian refugees?
§ Mr. MartenCertainly I shall. However, we are already giving considerable aid to Thailand and Cambodia to help with the refugee problem.
§ Following is the information :
| CONTRIBUTIONS BY HER MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT TO UNICEF | ||
| Regular programme | Special appeals and specific projects | |
| £ million | £ million | |
| 1974 | 1.300 | 0.520 |
| 1975 | 2.000 | 1.025 |
| 1976 | 2.300 | Nil |
| 1977 | 3.300 | 0.790 |
| 1978 | 4.500 | 1.192 |
| 1979 | 5.800 | 1.600 |
| CONTRIBUTIONS BY HER MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT TO UNHCR | ||
| Reqular programme | Special appeals | |
| £ million | £ million | |
| 1974 | 0.36 | 0.53 |
| 1975 | 0.33 | 1.14 |
| 1976 | 0.40 | 0.35 |
| 1977 | 0.86 | 0.25 |
| 1978 | 2.34 | 4.83* |
| 1979 | 6.00 | 1.63* |
| * Unaudited. |
§ The European Community also makes significant contribution to UNHCR's regular programme and special appeals, parts of which are provided from United Kingdom subscriptions to Community resources.