§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what contribution the United Nations Disaster Relief Co-ordinator is making towards relief in the Lebanon; and what is the scale of the United Kingdom contribution to his work;
(2) whether any contribution will be made by the United Kingdom to the UNICEF relief and rehabilitation programme for the Lebanon;
(3) whether any contribution has been made by the United Kingdom to the restoration of water supplies and basic hygiene services in Beirut.
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§ Mr. RifkindUNDRO has made an invaluable contribution towards relief in Lebanon by gathering, evaluating and disseminating information and by mobilising relief contributions. In addition to the United Kingdom's annual contribution of about 4 per cent. of the United Nations budget, which benefits UNDRO, the Overseas Development Administration has worked closely with UNDRO and on two occasions was able to respond to an UNDRO request for a charter aircraft to lift urgently needed supplies.
United Kingdom multilateral and bilateral relief aid for Lebanon now totals over £2 million, but we have not earmarked any of this specifically for repairs to water supplies or basic hygiene services.
So far as UNICEF's appeal is concerned, although the United Kingdom is willing to join international discussions about relief and rehabilitation, no decision has been made about a United Kingdom contribution nor about how such a contribution might be channelled. The United Kingdom is currently a major donor to UNICEF's general resources and contributes about £6 million a year.
§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any contribution will be made by the United Kingdom to the UN Relief and Works Agency emergency relief plan for displaced Palestinian refugees in the Lebanon.
§ Mr. RifkindWe are contributing £4 million to UNRWA generally this year, some of which will be used in the Lebanon, plus £1 million of food aid and special disaster aid of £386,534 both specifically earmarked for the Lebanon. The question whether any further provision might be made in the current financial year is being kept under close review.