§ Lord Norrieasked Her Majesty's Government:
What assistance has been given to the people of Cambodia and what plans they have for future assistance.
The Earl of CaithnessHer Majesty's Government are monitoring the situation closely and we announced on 8th October that we would make up to £100,000 available for British non-governmental organisations to help civil war displaced people inside Cambodia. Officials are in touch with interested NGOs about this.
1028WASince 1988/89, under the Overseas Development Administration's joint funding scheme, we have committed £513,974 in support of eleven humanitarian assistance projects carried out by nongovernmental organisations. We currently have a further four NGO projects, costed at £398,000, under consideration. In addition we have allocated £1.25 million to support programmes in Cambodia carried out by the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organisation: these include provision of safe water supplies, food for work schemes, primary health care, education and assistance for agricultural development. We have also provided nearly £15 million since 1979 in assistance for refugees on the Thai/Cambodian border.
For the future, we are ready to consider with other donors, initially in a reconvened Paris international conference on Cambodia, how refugee repatriation and development/reconstruction needs might best be met following a comprehensive political settlement.