HC Deb 28 October 1992 vol 212 cc704-6W
Mr. Worthington

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he, another Minister or Foreign Office official intend to visit the area of the former British Somalia.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

Neither the Foreign Secretary nor other Ministers have any plans at present to visit the area of the former British protectorate of Somaliland. The British ambassador to Ethiopia is likely to do so in the near future, though no date has yet been set.

Mr. Worthington

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the performance of the UN and its agencies, the EC and Her Majesty's Government in response to the crisis in Somalia; and whether he has any proposals for improvement.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and my noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development have visited Somalia recently as part of EC Troika missions. While there is general recognition, including by the UN itself, that the relief effort was slow to get off the ground, both were generally impressed by the excellent work being done in extremely difficult and often harrowing circumstances by the UN agencies and non-government organisations. The most urgent need is to improve the security situation. We have continued to press the UN to take the further action necessary to ensure the prompt distribution of relief supplies and the safety of aid personnel. The Government have given almost £27 million to the relief effort.

Mr. Worthington

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the decision was taken by the United Nations Security Council to send 500 troops to Somalia; and when these troops were actually deployed in Mogadishu.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

The UN Security Council agreed in principle to the deployment of troops in Mogadishu on 24 April 1992, subject to further discussion between the UN and local military factions. The Security Council on 14 August agreed that deployment should proceed. The first troops arrived on 14 September.

Mr. Worthington

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action(a) the World Health Organisation and (b) the Food and Agriculture Organisation have taken in Somalia.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

During the first half of 1992 the World Health Organisation (WHO) funded medical and health supplies to a value of US$1.744 million for international and local non-government organisations in Somalia. WHO is raising an additional US$6.1 million to strengthen and expand its activities. The Food and Agricultural Organisation is providing an emergency supply of seeds, tools and pesticides and assistance for animal health projects.

Mr. Worthington

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what instructions were given to his Department's staff in Nairobi about visits to Somalia; and what were the reasons for those instructions in the period since the end of the civil war.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

Since January 1991, the Foreign Office has advised British nationals against visiting Somalia. British officials have been required to follow this advice, and have only visited Somalia when there was a specific need to do so. Humanitarian aid issues have been fully dealt with in Nairobi, Geneva and elsewhere. A member of the British High Commission staff in Nairobi has special responsibility for liaison with non-governmental organisations in the south of Somalia, and visits as necessary.

Mr. Worthington

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the outcome of the UN conference on Somalia held in Geneva; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

My noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development attended the conference of donors to Somalia held in Geneva on 13 and 14 October. The conference formally established the UN 100-day action plan to accelerate the relief effort to Somalia. The Government strongly support the plan. The new pledge of £7.5 million of humanitarian aid for Somalia which we announced in September is being used to support the aims of the plan.