§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions(a)he, (b)senior members of his Department, (c)the UK Government's representatives in Colombia, (d)the Government's representatives in New York and (e)his ministerial colleagues in London have (i) had, (ii) agreed to have and (iii) sought to have with (A) Jan Egeland, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Co- ordinator, ( B) other officials of the Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs, (C) members and representatives of the Government of Colombia and (D) nongovernmental organisations, in the UK and Colombia, following Jan Egeland's statement of 10 May 2004; and if he will make a statement. [173370]
§ Mr. RammellThere are currently no legal restrictions in place in Colombia preventing access to any part of their country for international organisations and their agencies or for Colombian or foreign NGOs working there. However, the continuing armed conflict and the country's geography mean that access to the remotest parts of the country can be difficult. In addition, paramilitary or guerrilla groups do attempt to block access by outsiders to some parts of the country, particularly remote rural locations. International organisations and NGOs are also conscious of the potential risk to their staff of attempting to gain access to areas in which the armed conflict is on-going. Through its democratic security policy the Government of Colombia are trying to bring security and accessibility to all regions in the country. We constantly urge the Colombian Government to ensure that the implementation of this policy is in accordance with international law. We also monitor developments closely to inform our own travel advice.