§ 6. Mr. Andrew Robathan (Blaby) (Con)If he will make a statement on British aid to Somalia. [178966]
§ The Secretary of State for International Development (Hilary Benn)We are increasing our aid to Somalia. In the present financial year, we anticipate that our total support will amount to some £6.5 million. That includes health and education projects, peace-building support and humanitarian relief.
§ Mr. RobathanDoes the Secretary of State share my concerns about the Somalia national reconciliation conference in Nairobi, funded in part by the British Government and attended by Somali warlords who are accused of war crimes—in particular, General Morgan, the butcher of Hargeisa, who it is alleged, was responsible for the deaths of 50,000 people in Hargeisa in 1988, in circumstances similar to those at Srebrenica? Does the Secretary of State consider that the British taxpayer should be paying for the hospitality and entertainment of people accused of war crimes, who should be answering for their crimes at the bar of the international court?
§ Hilary BennI know that the hon. Gentleman is very concerned about this issue. The people of Somalia have suffered enormously from the activities of warlords and the conflict that has taken place over many years in that country, and I share his frustration, which he has expressed previously, about the slow rate of progress in those talks—this is, I think, the 14th occasion on which the parties have come together—but it is right that we should contribute to continuing to try to find a resolution to the conflict in Somalia. A timetable has been set for the latest round of talks, and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development has given the parties a deadline of the end of July to agree on appointing MPs to a new assembly, so that those MPs can elect an interim president. If that does not happen, the international community recognises that we will need to pause the process, but it is right to go on trying in the interests of the people of the country.
§ Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)With 80 per cent. of the herds in some parts of the north having had to be killed as a result of drought in the past 766 four years, and with 30 people killed in the south and 100 killed in Mogadishu in the past couple of months, is the Secretary of State satisfied that the UK is doing enough to bring stability to the region and to help civil society? Does he think that this is the right time for the Home Office to be sending asylum seekers back to Mogadishu?
§ Hilary BennOn the hon. Gentleman's latter point, he will be aware that over the past 10 years, the UK has given asylum to 30,000 people from Somalia. I understand that the Home Office's decisions are being taken individually and on a case-by-case basis. I agree that the circumstances in Somalia remain difficult and serious. We are making the efforts that I described in reply to the question asked by the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan), but in the end, there must be a political process, which means that those who are responsible for the fighting should reach some sort of agreement so that the Somali people may experience peace after all the instability that they have faced.