§ Tom BrakeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the Department's role is in the allocation of Coalition Provisional Authority funds. [149035]
§ Hilary BennThe Head of DFID's office in Baghdad is the UK voting member of the Programme Review Board, which approves Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) plans for expenditure from the Development Fund for Iraq. DFID secondees to the CPA also have a role, alongside US and other Coalition partners, in drawing up CPA expenditure plans. The US Government decide on the allocation of their own funding provided through the CPA.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many recent meetings officials from his Department have had with local Iraqi non-governmental organisations; and what the results of those meetings have been. [149982]
§ Hilary BennOn average five to 10 Iraqi non-governmental organisations (NGOs) visit the DFID office in Baghdad each week (most NGOs prefer not to meet on their own premises). DFID has also sponsored several meetings, particularly on women's political participation and human rights, involving several hundred attendees, many of whom are from small Iraqi NGOs.
The issues raised by the NGOs range widely. One frequent topic is how best DFID and the coalition as a whole can support the development of Iraqi civil society. These discussions inform the development of DFID's strategy and our approach to funding. But many of the NGOs are embryonic and are simply seeking guidance on how to establish themselves properly. We are working with the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation and the Coalition Provisional Authority on a registration scheme for all NGOs in Iraq.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of humanitarian aid stockpiles in Iraq that have been(a) destroyed and (b) stolen since April 2003. [149983]
§ Hilary BennDFID is not aware of any DFID-funded NGO or UN humanitarian aid stockpiles being destroyed or stolen since April 2003. However, some of our regular partners have had problems with other stockpiles. A warehouse of International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Society goods funded by ECHO (and therefore 19 per cent. DFID-funded) was looted in April. The total stock was valued at approximately £280,000. An ICRC warehouse also suffered from looting during this period resulting in the loss of approximately £65,000 worth of stock as well as some vehicles being damaged or stolen.
In addition, there were small losses of some perishable foodstuffs and medicines under the UN Oil For Food programme, due to delays in transporting goods during and immediately after the conflict.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much money his Department has provided to the office of the United 25W Nations High Commissioner for Refugees since the start of the conflict with Iraq to assist with its work in Iraq and neighbouring countries. [149984]
§ Hilary BennDFID provided £1.75 million to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to support its work in Iraq and neighbouring countries in preparedness for the conflict. No further funding has been provided to UNHCR since the conflict.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what progress has been made with the plan of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to assist the return of up to half a million Iraqi refugees; [149999]
(2) what progress has been made with plans to assist those displaced before the conflict in Iraq to return home. [150000]
§ Hilary BennSince the end of the conflict, United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has facilitated the return of relatively small numbers of Iraqi refugees. These include the voluntary return of over 4,000 Iraqi refugees who spent more than 12 years in the Raffia refugee camp in Saudi Arabia, and some 800 refugees from Iran.
UNHCR is not encouraging returns to Iraq because of insecurity in parts of the country, a lack of humanitarian access, and economic conditions that cannot support mass returns. However, UNHCR is supporting, where it can, the repatriation of people who actively seek to go back regardless of conditions inside the country. It appears that increasing numbers of refugees in neighbouring countries, particularly Iran. are choosing to return to Iraq without support.
Once conditions in Iraq improve, UNHCR plans to step up its work with the Iraqi authorities, the CPA, and governments in countries of asylum, as well as other United Nations agencies and NGO partners, to support the return of Iraqi refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). UNHCR has launched pilot projects for the return and reintegration of refugees and IDPs in the northern governorates of Erbil and Dohuk. These projects aim to provide shelter kits to returnee families and to upgrade water supplies for returnees and host communities.
An Iraqi Property Claims Commission is being set up to help resolve the claims of returnees whose property was confiscated under previous regimes. A new Ministry of Displacement and Migration has been established to manage issues relating to Iraqi refugees and displaced people.
Further information on UNHCR's work can be found at: http://www.unhcr.ch/welcome.htm
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will list the drugs of which there is a shortage in Iraq; and what conditions they are intended to treat. [150002]
§ Hilary BennThe Iraqi Ministry of Health, the Coalition Provisional Authority and the World Health Organisation are working together on a comprehensive26W assessment of shortages of drugs, other medical supplies and equipment. This is expected to be complete by March.