§ Mr. Baldryasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will seek a report from the Secretary General of the United Nations as to the present situation in Ethiopia, including allegations that food relief has been abused, and is not reaching all parts of Ethiopia, that people are being forcibly resettled and that money donated to relief agencies has been misappropriated; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. RaisonI discussed the problem as a whole with the United Nations Assistant Secretary General for emergency operations in Ethiopia, Mr. Kurt Jansson, on 12 February. I believe that the massive food and other relief now being provided is reaching those in need, including most of those so identified in Eritrea and Tigré, although clearly there are substantial difficulties in areas where there is civil war. I have been concerned at recent reports about forcible resettlement, but it is difficult to obtain firm evidence. Allegations that money given to relief agencies has been misappropriated are for those agencies to answer, but I am satisfied that the money we are providing to individual agencies is being properly and usefully spent.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he is satisfied with the current level of Government aid given to Ethiopia; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RaisonI am satisfied that we are doing what we can, both nationally and through the European Community. But further needs will arise as the year goes on, and we shall continue our efforts to meet them.
§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 4 December 1984, Official Report, column 135, what is the most recent information he has as to how much grain has now been promised by each developed country to Ethiopia over the next 12 months; how far this is short of Ethiopia's needs; and in which month each country's promised delivery is likely to arrive in Ethiopia.
§ Mr. RaisonCommitments of food aid notified to the office of the UN co-ordinator for Ethiopia for the period December 1984 to June 1985 are set out in table 1. Precise figures for the second half of the year are not available, although many donors have indicated their intentions. The UN co-ordinator estimates that completed deliveries plus pledges notified to him will be sufficient to meet the target of 1.2 million tonnes of cereals he set in December 1984. This took account of the country's absorptive capacity and was based on an estimate of 7.6 million people in need of emergency relief.
Forecasts of arrivals of cereals and cereal products at the ports of Assab, Massawa and Djibouti are set out in table II. No firm information is available on shipments after April.
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Table I Commitments of food aid to Ethiopia covering December 1984 to June 1985 by country Country (Tonnes) Australia 8,500 Austria 4,000 Belgium 8,400 Bulgaria 18,000 Canada 75,100 China 4,300 Denmark 900 European Community (to August 1985) 178,200 Finland 1,600 Federal Republic of Germany 31,000 France 2,600 Greece 8,000 Hungary 2,500 India 35,000 Ireland 1,600 Italy 2,000
Country (Tonnes) Japan 4,300 Netherlands 1,300 Norway 25,000 Poland 900 Spain 1,800 Sweden 14,000 United Kingdom 21,500 United States of America (to July 1985) 247,700 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics 2,700 Voluntary agencies 30,000 World Food Programme (source unspecified) 63,000 Source: Office of the United Nations co-ordinator, Addis Ababa.
Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to nearest 100 tonnes.
2. Figures include all foods, including supplementary food and oils, but cereals account for nearly all the commitments.
Table II Arrivals of cereal products as food aid by month and country of origin (tonnes) February March April World Food Programme 21,000 30,000 74,000 United States of America 72,000 38,000 14,000 European Community 15,000 22,000 15,000 Canada 6,000 18,000 10,000 United Kingdom 10,000 — — Austria — 4,000 — Belgium 3,000 — — Japan 4,000 — — Sweden 14,000 — — Greece 2,000 2,000 2,000 France — — 1,000 Source: World Food Programme Shipping Bulletin 30 January 1985.
Notes: Figures are rounded to nearest 1,000 tonnes. Shipments of less than 1,000 tomes, and shipment by voluntary organisations, not included.