§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What sums have been approved for aid to refugees in Iran by the United Kingdom, the European Community and other sources, what funds and supplies have so far been delivered, and whether delays or difficulties have been experienced.
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (The Earl of Caithness)As of 22nd April, the UK has provided four airlifts of relief supplies to Iran, at an estimated cost of £700,000. These supplies have been despatched and distributed promptly by the Iranian Red Crescent and have been well received.
Following the recent visit of the Minister for Overseas Development to Turkey and Iran, we announced on 22nd April that we would be doubling to four per week the number of flights of relief supplies into Iran, paying for the establishment of a field health centre in West Azerbaijan, providing further logistical assistance and contributing £2 million to the ICRC's programme in Iran. We are keeping the situation under constant review. Further help will be announced.
We understand that other donors have provided over 20 air shipments of relief supplies to Iran so far. Iran has allocated 150 million US dollars to the crisis. Following the Prime Minister's initiative, the EC agreed on 8th April to contribute 150 million ECUs to the Iraqi refugee crisis.