§ Mr. LoveTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid is being provided to(a) Rwanda and (b) Burundi (i) for development and (ii) to re-establish its justice system; and if he will make a statement. [148858]
§ Hilary BennEstablishing a fair and effective justice system in Rwanda is crucial for the stability and prosperity of the country. The most immediate challenge is to process the more than 100,000 individuals currently in Rwandan prisons accused of genocidal crimes.
The UK Government has provided £715,000 for research into the efficiency and effectiveness of gacaca— the traditional justice system adopted by the Government of Rwanda to try those accused of genocidal crimes. This programme is managed by Penal Reform International (PRI). This financial year, the UK will also provide some £25 million to the Government of Rwanda as direct budgetary support. These funds support the implementation of Rwanda's PRSP, which highlights justice as a priority sector.
At the request of the Government of Rwanda, the Belgian Government leads donor activity in the justice sector. Other major donors in this sector include the Dutch Government (construction of gacaca courts), the Canadian Government (the administration of the Supreme Court), the European Union (rehabilitation of the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court), and the German Government (rehabilitation of judicial systems).
In the case of Burundi, the UK commitment in 2003–04 so far amounts to £11.62 million. Our programme consists of support to peace building and conflict resolution initiatives; and humanitarian assistance through the United Nations agencies, non-governmental organisations and other international agencies. We are also working with the Government of Burundi providing technical support and advice on their 28W Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and on capacity building issues. We are looking at the possibility of assistance in collaboration with others in the area of electoral reform.
Beyond this, we have no specific plans for support to the justice sector. However, the European Commission, under their recently agreed National Indicative Programme for Burundi for the period 2003 to 2007, are developing a significant support programme in good governance including the justice sector.