§ Ms CorstonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the Sierra Leone donors conference. [54294]
§ Mr. Tony LloydI attended the United Nations Special Conference on Sierra Leone in New York on 30 July. It focused on the need for reconciliation and the restoration of democracy following the brutal rule of the military junta. Britain is leading the way in this. At the Conference, I announced a Department for International Development pledge of £6.5 million over two years to support the Government of Sierra Leone's Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration plan. In total, Britain has committed over £20 million for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of Sierra Leone since March 1998.