§ 42. Mr. ShoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with Overseas Development Ministers of OECD countries on aid matters over the last month.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI met all EC Overseas Development Ministers present at the Development Council meeting in Brussels on 28 November, and most other Overseas Development Ministers at the OECD joint ministerial and development meeting and the OECD development assistance committee high-level meeting in Paris from 2 to 4 December.
§ Mr. ShoreI thank the Minister for that reply. It has been made plain that Government policy on aid will be 608 increasingly conditioned by the performance of recipient governments in terms of human rights and observance of democratic practices, and I wholly welcome that. Have the principles of United Kingdom policy been discussed with colleagues in the OECD and, if so, with what response and result?
§ Mrs. ChalkerI am pleased to be able to tell the right hon. Gentleman that we have had discussions on that matter both in the European Community Development Ministers' meeting the Thursday before last and at the OECD. As a result of those two meetings, we now have resolutions that support the line that we have consistently taken—that aid will be dependent on the trends shown by all countries—and I mean "all countries"—with regard to their respect for the rule of law, human rights, the development of good government practices and of an independent judiciary, and the following of sound economic policies. The right hon. Gentleman can be assured that the whole aid community is firmly behind those principles.