HC Deb 02 February 1995 vol 253 c784W
Mr. Worthington

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations he has made to the Kenyan Government about events in Nakuru just before Christmas involving compulsory dispersal of victims of ethnic clashes;

(2) if he will seek a report from the United Nations. Development Programme in Kenya about the forced closure of Maela camps, in Nakuru on 23 December, and place that report in the Library;

(3) if he will ask the high commission in Nairobi for a report on the forced closure of Maela camps on Friday 23 December, and the number of people removed and their destination; and if he will place that report in the Library.

Mr. Baldry

The UNDP has not published a report øn the dispersal at Maela. However figures from them, confirmed by the British High Commission in Nairobi, indicate that up to 2,500 displaced people were moved from Maela, on or soon after 23 December 1994. Of these, some 1,200 were resettled on Agricultural Development Corporation land in the area; the rest were taken to locations in central province.

We have made clear to the Kenyan Government at high level our concerns about the way in which the dispersal was carried out. We support the joint Kenya Government-UNDP programme which is addressing the needs of displaced people in Kenya both financially and through the High Commission's participation in Nairobi in the National Committee for Displaced Persons. We are keen to see the programme continue in an orderly fashion.

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