§ 54. Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of United Kingdom aid to Somalia particularly in terms of alleviating the poverty and suffering of people in northern Somalia; whether his policy has been reviewed in the light of renewed internal conflicts; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mrs. ChalkerThe security situation in northern Somalia since the beginning of the civil conflict there has prevented an effective relief effort being mounted, although we remain ready to support the operations of the international relief agencies and British voluntary organisations when these become possible. Concern about human rights abuses led us to suspend an offer of new capital aid to Somalia in October last year and following the deterioration of conditions since mid-July, we concluded that it was necessary to reduce our existing technical co-operation programme.