HC Deb 22 June 1999 vol 333 cc921-2
12. Mr. David Heath (Somerton and Frome)

What assessment he has made of the current situation in Sierra Leone. [86584]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Tony Lloyd)

We welcome the recent signing of a ceasefire agreement and the negotiations currently taking place in Lomé. We urge all those involved to seize this opportunity to secure a sustainable peace and to end Sierra Leone's appalling cycle of violence.

Mr. Heath

The Minister might have been forgiven if he had suggested that interest in Sierra Leone had diminished a little in this House since last year, but it remains a very important matter. Has the Minister had any discussions with President Obasanjo of Nigeria to secure assurances that Nigeria will maintain stability over the next crucial few months while the peace process is worked out?

Given the tragic humanitarian disaster that has overtaken Sierra Leone, which has 400,000 refugees and 1 million displaced persons within its borders, will the Minister say whether any further progress has been made on the EU's projected $30 million aid programme?

Mr. Lloyd

The hon. Gentleman is right to say that, sadly, the House's interest in Sierra Leone seems to have diminished, but the tragic reality of the country was never reflected in the rather partisan, party-political debate here in Westminster.

It is important to pay tribute to the role of ECOMOG—and to Nigeria's role within it—in stabilising the situation in Sierra Leone. Nigeria has worked enormously hard, and its nationals have died in the stabilisation struggle. We have worked closely with Nigeria and ECOMOG, and President Obasanjo has maintained his commitment to ensuring that Nigeria will finish the job that it started and that ECOMOG will play its part.

I cannot tell the hon. Gentleman the exact state of progress on the EU's projected aid programme, although I shall respond in due course with that information. However, the Government retain their dual commitment to ensuring that we win in this period of conflict by maintaining progress towards peace, and to ensuring that we win the peace, too. That will involve investment after the conflict has ended.

Mr. Ian Davidson (Glasgow, Pollok)

Will the Minister expand on the matter of the humanitarian aid that we are providing to Sierra Leone, and on the aid that we are providing to help rebuild civil society there? It is not enough to provide foodstuffs and materials; civil society must be reconstructed. What are the Government doing in that regard?

Mr. Lloyd

My hon. Friend asks a very important question. A real effort has been put into giving humanitarian aid. We have given some £3.5 million since the beginning of this year, when the most recent rebel incursion into Freetown occurred. Nevertheless, the bulk of the assistance made available—in the order of £20 million—is for different forms of reconstruction assistance. The aim in part is to demobilise those engaged in combat, and also to reconstruct civil society and ensure that there is an economic base on which peace can be founded. That is the most profound and important commitment that we can make.

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