§ 2. Lynne Jones (Birmingham, Selly Oak)What progress is being made in Colombia towards the achievement of millennium development goals. [137784]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. Gareth Thomas)Colombia is on track to achieve most of the millennium development goals. Good progress has been made towards the targets to achieve universal basic primary education, to eliminate gender disparity in primary education and to reduce maternal mortality. Progress towards the goal of reducing by half the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day remains fragile owing to the recent economic crisis.
§ Lynne JonesAccording to UNICEF education spending needs to increase by 50 per cent. if Colombia is to achieve basic education for all by 2015, yet the high level of indebtedness and the increased military spending owing to the conflict are squeezing out social spending. What help can the Government give to Colombia to ensure that it meets its commitment, given in London, to honour the UN recommendation that a consistent strategy will be developed to reduce illiteracy and unemployment and increase access to health care, education and housing?
Mr. ThomasI hope that my hon. Friend will be reassured to hear that significant assistance is provided to Colombia to help with its social spending programmes in health and education through, for example, the World Bank, the European Commission and the Inter-American Development Bank. We 271 continue to have regular discussions and dialogue with those multilateral players to try to ensure that those spending programmes are focused on the efforts to reduce poverty in the areas that I have outlined.
§ Mr. Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley)As the Minister will know, two of the goals lead with economic sustainability and development. He will know that large tracts of Colombia in the rain forests have been illegally logged to make way for coca plantations. What extra support can the Government give to President Uribe in trying to combat that illegal trade and ensure that the poverty associated with it can be eradicated?
Mr. ThomasThe hon. Gentleman will be delighted to know that the EU intends to publish a draft regulation on the issue of illegal logging following discussions that have taken place in Africa—recently in Cameroon—on making progress in this area, and following other work that has taken place in Asia. Further work is needed in the European Union, and we are active in those discussions, arguing for further action to be taken at European level to reduce the purchase of the products of illegal logging, in this country and other European states.
§ Mr. Peter Kilfoyle (Liverpool, Walton)I recently visited Colombia, and was impressed by the programmes being sponsored there by Her Majesty's Government. Can the Minister tell me whether those are the very same programmes that are being threatened with cuts in order to pay for the mess created in Iraq?
Mr. ThomasThe programmes in Colombia were coming to an end anyway, regardless of the decisions that we are taking in relation to Iraq. The significant resources going into Colombia through the multilateral financial institutions such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, with which we work closely, will help to continue to improve health care and education services in those countries. On the specific question of Iraq, given the ongoing needs of the Iraqi people, I think that we have taken the right decision to stay with them and to provide further reconstruction assistance.
§ Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington)In relation to millennium development goal No. 8, can the Minister say what discussions have taken place with the Ministry of Defence about the conditions that should be attached to UK military aid to Colombia? Can the Minister say whether there should be a link between progress in its human rights record and military aid, whether officers coming to the UK for training should be properly vetted and have their visas vetted, and whether, for instance, the Government should ensure that Colombian military units that are receiving aid are not currently involved in any alleged human rights abuses, and have not previously been involved in any alleged human rights abuses?
Mr. ThomasThe hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise the issue of human rights abuses, and we continue to be extremely concerned about the ongoing level of such abuses. I was struck by the figures that I saw showing that Colombia sees the highest number of 272 abuses in terms of the number of members of trade unions. Continuing to reduce the number of human rights abuses by the military and paramilitary forces is essential. In that respect, I am sure that he will be pleased that in July this year a meeting on international support to Colombia was held in London and major donors welcomed the Colombian Government's pledge to implement a series of recommendations from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.