HC Deb 18 May 2004 vol 421 cc867-8W
Angus Robertson

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) how much(a) money and (b) aid in kind the UK has (i) pledged and (ii) delivered to date to the (A) International Organisation for Migration and (B) the UN Development Fund for Women within the framework of the UN Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for Columbia 2003; and if he will make a statement; [173442]

(2) how much (a) money and (b) aid in kind the UK has (i) pledged and (ii) delivered to date to the Food and Agriculture Organisation within the framework of the UN Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for Colombia 2003; and if he will make a statement. [173449]

Mr. Gareth Thomas

The UK did not directly respond to the UN Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal for Colombia in 2003 (Humanitarian Assistance Plan, HAP), nor did it contribute funds or provide aid in kind to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, International Organisation for Migration or the UN Development Fund for Women within that framework. DFID's support took the form of its 18 per cent. share of the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) commitment of €8.6 million to Colombia in 2003 through it's own Global Plan 2003, for internally displaced people and people affected by internal conflict in Colombia.

Angus Robertson

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what programmes aimed at(a) aiding internally displaced people and (b) aiding indigenous tribes his Department (i) has established since 2000, (ii) runs, (iii) helps to run, (iv) finances and (v) helps finance in Colombia; how many people each has (A) housed and (B) fed per annum since 2000; and if he will make a statement. [173444]

Mr. Gareth Thomas

DFID has provided support for internally displaced people (IDPs) through UK non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and its 18 per cent. share of the European Commission's (EC) humanitarian assistance programme.

DFID supported Oxfam's Communities for Peace initiative in northern Colombia (1999–2000) by contributing £107,00 This strengthened local capacity to protect and realise the human rights of community members through community based support to health, food security, income generation, education and social inclusion.

DFID funded £150 000 for a Save the Children Fund project (1999–2000) where they worked with three local NGOs (Dos Mundos, Asoda and Benposta) in Colombia to meet the social and emotional needs of children and adolescents who had been internally displaced by conflict.

The EC's commitment to IDPs is shown in the following table The European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office's (ECHO) Global Plan focuses on four specific objectives: short-term humanitarian assistance and protection to IDPs, post-emergency assistance to IDPs and vulnerable groups, co-ordination to increase the exchange of information among humanitarian organisations, and technical assistance.

EC Commitment for IDPs
€ million
ECHO Assistance for up-rooted people
2000 6.5
2001 10
2002 9.2 1.5
2003 8.6 10.55

The latest figures available for numbers benefiting are for the EC's 2002 commitment. These show that 195,000 new IDPs received emergency assistance, 85,000 people had their living conditions considerably improved, and 25,000 people were given access to basic health care assistance.

DFID has not supported programmes that specifically work on Colombian indigenous communities either directly or through the EC since 2000.

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