Africa (Hansard, 22 November 2000)

§ 5. Jane Griffiths (Reading, East)
If she will make a statement on her Department's plans for addressing violent conflict in Africa. [138108]

§ The Secretary of State for International Development (Clare Short)
Of the 44 countries in sub-Saharan Africa more than 20 are affected by conflict. This causes suffering and impoverishment to 20 per cent. of the population of Africa and blights the economic development of the whole continent. We contribute directly to many African and international peace-building efforts. Following the comprehensive spending review in July, a joint Department for International Development, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence committee has been established with a pooled budget to try to strengthen the effectiveness of the UK's contribution to conflict resolution in Africa.

§ Jane Griffiths
I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. Will she clarify how the new African conflict prevention joint pool will work? How will the British Government thereby help to play a greater part in conflict prevention in Africa?

§ Clare Short
I am sure my hon. Friend will agree that those terrible figures, which reveal the extent of conflict in Africa—the suffering that results from it and the block on development that it constitutes—show that the whole world needs to do better to resolve conflicts. Many conflicts are not between states, but between failed states that are involved in banditry over diamonds, for example, and the people there cannot do anything to bring about peace without outside assistance. The pooled budget brings together the efforts of our separate departments in Africa to see whether, by sharing analysis country by country and establishing priorities, the United Kingdom, through its work at the UN and elsewhere, can do more to resolve conflict, starting, of course, with Sierra Leone.

§ Mr. Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury)
The right hon. Lady rightly mentioned that conflicts hold up the development aid that we provide. Will she comment on the conflict in Ethiopia with relation to development aid?

§ Clare Short
I can indeed—in fact, I flew back overnight from Ethiopia. We are pleased, and the UN is optimistic, that the peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea is deepening, and we expect peackeepers to be deployed soon. Ethiopia is, I think, the poorest annually on food aid. We must have to create development. We need 297 development aid that invests in improved economic performance followed by trade that builds up the economy and enables people to Work. We are hopeful that the War is over and Ethiopia can get back to development.

§ Mr. Tom Clarke (Coatbridge and Chryston)
In view of the circumstances of violence and civil war in many parts of Africa, does my right hon. Friend accept that the Government's humanitarian aid programme is very commendable? Does she also agree, given the evidence of the need for access to education, particularly for girls, and for infrastructure to provide electricity and telecommunications, that it is essential to have a programme of sustainable development, especially in sub-Saharan Africa?

§ Clare Short
I agree with my right hon. Friend that where people are affected by conflict and the quality of their lives is deteriorating, we must provide humanitarian relief. The tragedy is that that does not bring a solution. Sudan has had a prolonged war and received masses of humanitarian aid, but there have also been many deaths and the war has displaced many people whose lives are getting ever harder. Humanitarian aid is as essential as Elastoplast, but we need a much bigger effort to end conflict so that resources can go into development and building the economy instead of continuing the suffering.

§ Mr. Gary Streeter (South-West Devon)
The Secretary of State is consistently right on many matters—[Horn. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."] Labour Members may want to wait until the end of the question before cheering.
The right hon. Lady is consistently right that for the poorest people in Africa, the key consideration is achieving peace in their country. We can all be very proud of the part that British troops have played in peacekeeping activities in Africa over many years. Can the right hon. Lady confirm the clear statement in the German press that the European rapid reaction force is to operate within a 4,000 km radius of Brussels, which will take in vast areas of Africa? What future role does she see for that force in countries such as Ethiopia, Sudan, Sierra Leone and others? Was her Department consulted before the decision to sign up for it was taken?

§ Clare Short
When the hon. Gentleman started his question, I thought that for a change we might be able to exchange compliments, but sadly that is not so. Anyone who intelligently observed the trouble in the Balkans and Kosovo, and the contribution that Europe made to that conflict on our own borders and our lack of heavy lift equipment to get our troops there, knows that European armed forces need to co-operate. That is the intention so that we can do our job properly in our own continent and take seriously our international responsibilities. Anyone with any sense should be proud of that development.

§ Mr. Streeter
The right hon. Lady has clearly not been properly briefed about the 4,000 km radius of the ERRF. My question was about Africa. Is the right hon. Lady not concerned that our capacity to help bring an end to violent conflict in Africa will be seriously undermined, either by the new army focusing narrowly on Europe, or by overstretching our armed forces so that UN peacekeeping for operations such as Sierra Leone become impossible?
298 Have the Government thought through the implications for a wider development capacity of signing up to the Euro-army at the same time as trying to remain part of NATO, conduct operations such as the one in Sierra Leone, take part in UN peacekeeping activities and have troops available to help in humanitarian disasters? Is not the truth that the policy is not just shortsighted for Europe but has its dangers for the people of Africa?

§ Clare Short
It is very sad that, with some strength in its historical record, the Conservative party is becoming so neuralgic about Europe that it is making itself completely stupid. In the post-cold war world, we must clearly be better at peacekeeping and prevention of conflict in our near abroad. European countries co-operating in that effort must be good for all parts of the world.[Interruption.] I am afraid, again, that the hon. Gentleman is heckling, so he cannot learn. If he listened, he might be a bit wiser.

§ Mr. Desmond Browne (Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that countries with a poor record in protection of human rights also tend to be those with high levels of violent conflict, and that the protection of human rights is in itself a method of conflict prevention? If she does, will she confirm that both her Department and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will include in their pooled resources support for human rights projects in sub-Saharan Africa?

§ Clare Short
I agree very much with my hon. Friend. Conflict is often caused when one group in a country tries to take the political power and all the economic resources—not sharing them fairly—so that other people feel the need to use force to get justice. That is a very frequent cause of conflict in poor countries.
I confirm that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has prioritised human rights in his Department's work, and that in complementing that, my Department focuses on the human rights of the poorest. Our Government have paid increased attention to that important issue.