Angola (Hansard, 26 June 2002)

§ 3. Vernon Coaker (Gedling)
What assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Angola. [62470]

§ The Secretary of State for International Development (Clare Short)
The humanitarian situation in Angola remains very serious. More than 80,000 former fighters, 160,000 family members and 4 million displaced Angolans are all facing a humanitarian crisis. The United Nations has launched an appeal for $141 million to provide support until the end of 2002. We are contributing directly and trying to improve the effectiveness of the international response to the crisis, but Angola is at peace for the first time since the 1960s and this is a fantastically important opportunity to help it to move forward.

§ Vernon Coaker
My right hon. Friend deserves a lot of praise for the way in which she has highlighted the plight of the poor in Africa. Is it not also the case, however, that some countries in Africa do not get as much publicity as others? On a visit to Angola with UNICEF a few months ago, it was clear that Angola was almost a forgotten country. According to UNICEF figures, Angola is the worst place in the world in which to be born. Will she do all that she can to ensure that Angola is mentioned in all the international discussions that take place and features in any anti-poverty drive?

§ Clare Short
Yes, I will give that undertaking. As my hon. Friend knows, the biggest chance that Africa has is that Angola, the Congo and Sudan are all ripe for peace. If we can capture peace in those three massive resource-rich countries, the prospects of the continent will be lifted. Angola has enormous and rich resources, but they are not well used for the benefit of the people. If we can get peace and development there, they will act as an engine for development in Africa.

§ Tony Baldry (Banbury)
It is incredibly good news that Angola is at last at peace. It is also good news that Africa as a whole wants to take forward partnership through the NEPAD agreement. Great hope was held out at the G8 meeting, but there is a danger that the initiative may be distracted by other issues. Does the Secretary of State feel that, if it is distracted, it may be sensible to try to hold a summit that is devoted to African issues? I suspect that if the G8 does not make the progress on Africa for which many people hope, there will be considerable disappointment.

§ Clare Short
The priority that is being given to Africa at the summit is remarkable, and it is down to the efforts of our Prime Minister. A third of the summit's time has been allocated to Africa, which is unprecedented; the G8 countries do not usually discuss development, let alone the poorest continent. The hon. Gentleman is right: Africa cannot be fixed in one summit. NEPAD is a long-term development relationship that we all have to commit to and drive forward through all the channels of the international system. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will try through his Select Committee to ensure that that is done as well as possible.

§ Mr. Tom Clarke (Coatbridge and Chryston)
The overwhelming recollection of many of us who went to Angola during those terrible years when the war was taking place is the dreadful devastation arising from land mines. Will my right hon. Friend assure us, as I believe that she would want to, that the Government will do as much as they can to remove the legacy of those land mines?

§ Clare Short
Yes. Four million people are displaced in Angola as a result of the war. Getting them home, getting them farming and getting their lives moving again is crucial, and land mines have to be removed to allow that to take place. When I was recently in Luanda, members of UNITA, the rebels who were defeated in the war, said that there are fewer land mines than has been suggested to the 865 international community. So there is a problem, but it is probably resolvable. I agree with my hon. Friend that it is an important priority to get people back on to their land.

§ Mr. Nick Hawkins (Surrey Heath)
Although, as the Secretary of State said, the peace in Angola is very welcome, I am sure that she agrees that Angola has suffered greatly from drought and starvation, as well as from wars and bad governance. Aid to the people of Angola is being delayed as a result of protracted negotiations between the United Nations and the Angolan Government, who failed to provide the security guarantees that the UN required. What steps do the Secretary of State and Her Majesty's Government propose to try to end that stalemate and to ensure that the aid reaches the people who desperately need it?

§ Clare Short
The first point that I would make to the hon. Gentleman is that natural disasters rarely become catastrophes without misgovernment. Countries can cope when they have a decent Government, but the combination of natural disasters and misgovernment leads to catastrophe and famine. Unfortunately, Angola has suffered from war and misgovernment, but it now has a great opportunity.
As regards the UN, the problems are completely resolved. We have been attending to that. The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs is about to make its appeal. We are getting food through to families and to fighters—otherwise there is a danger that they will roam about with weapons, and the country will be full of disorder. We are following the situation closely. I believe that all the problems with the UN system have been resolved, but, given what the hon. Gentleman says, I shall look at the matter again to make sure that that is correct.