§ Mr. HoramTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how he proposes to respond to the UN Secretary General's appeal for humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe Government will make an immediate pledge of £7.5 million. This sum will be allocated as follows
£3 million for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to support its programme of assistance to returning refugees from Pakistan and Iran;£1 million for the International Committee of the Red Cross;£1 million for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan, for mine clearance;£1.6 million to respond to requests from nongovernmental organisations involved in relief, rehabilitation and development work;£0.9 million food aid contribution through the World Food Programme.This pledge is in addition to over £80 million of humanitarian aid provided by Britain for Afghanistan since 1980, of which £7.55 million has been disbursed in 1992–93 in response to an earlier UN appeal.