§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his assessment of the amount of food aid currently available to feed the people of Somalia.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe main problem in Somalia is not the amount of food aid potentially available for famine relief, but the difficulty of delivering this food to starving people in the midst of continuing war and civil conflict. It was in explicit recognition of this problem that the United Nations decided recently to dispatch troops to Somalia to help with the humanitarian relief operation. Food aid is now being released from Mogadishu for distribution under the protection of United States troops. Food aid commitments to Somalia since January 1992 total some 500,000 tonnes, of which nearly 60 per cent. has been already delivered. A further 20 per cent. is en route to Somalia to be delivered as soon as the right conditions for distribution prevail.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the effectiveness and efficiency of the European Community and British food aid effort in Somalia.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydContinuing security problems have hampered the effectiveness and efficiency of all donor activities in Somalia. The recent deployment of United Nations troops in Somalia is accelerating delivery of humanitarian relief, hitherto blocked by the actions of local warring factions, including food aid funded under British and European Community programmes.
§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 9 December,Official Report, column 675, what representatives he has sent to regions other than the south and centre of Somalia in order to assess the current needs within the situation of relative stability and to prepare proposals for a specific British contribution to reconstruction.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydWe have already made it clear that we are prepared to contribute, principally through British 257W non-governmental organisations, to reconstruction and rehabilitation work in the north of Somalia, through our humanitarian assistance programme and subject to being satisfied over the security situation. We also expect to be involved in such work in other parts of the country once conditions allow, as part of a comprehensive and integrated rehabilitation and construction plan that will need to be drawn up by the international community for a post-conflict Somalia.
§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 9 December,Official Report, column 675, what specific contribution Her Majesty's Government have offered to make towards the United Nations plan for rehabilitation and institution rebuilding in the north of Somalia (Republic of Somaliland).
§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd[holding answer 15 December 1992]: The United Nations has not been able to develop its proposed strategy for rehabilitation and institution building in northern Somalia because of insecurity In the region and elsewhere in the country. We hope implementation of Security Council resolution 794 will enable it to do so. We have made it clear to United Nations agencies and NGOs operating in the north that we are ready to help.