Land Mines (Hansard, 10 February 1994)

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on each of the activities funded by his Department relating to the clearance of land mines in Mozambique; which of these activities are being carried out on(a) a bilateral or (b) a multilateral basis; and whether any further aid will be given for medical attention of casualties of land mines.

§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd
Under our bilateral humanitarian assistance programme for Mozambique we are providing a grant of £710,000 to the Halo Trust to train, equip and supervise three local de-mining teams in Zambezia province. This programme is closely co-ordinated with British non-governmental organisations active in the province.
De-mining in Mozambique is co-ordinated by the United Nations. It has commissioned the Halo Trust to undertake a comprehensive mines survey. The United Nations and EC are both funding de-mining programmes to which we are contributing multilaterally.
Our assistance to de-mining is designed to reduce the number of casualties. We have not provided any direct medical assistance for land mine casualties. Other agencies are working with the victims of mines.

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the policy of the Overseas Development Administration on providing aid to clear land mines in Angola.

§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd
Once a formal ceasefire has been established between the Government of Angola and UNITA and implementation of a permanent peace settlement started, we will consider assistance for demining. We expect this to be part of a United Nations co-ordinated effort.

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Monklands, West (Mr. Clarke) of 1 December,Official Report, column 572, if he will make a statement on each of the activities funded by his Department relating to the clearance of land mines in Cambodia; which of these activities are being carried out 459W on (a) a bilateral or (b) a multilateral basis; and whether any further aid will be given for medical attention of casualties of land mines.

§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd
Since October 1991 our bilateral aid has included three grants to the Halo Trust, a British voluntary agency, for its mine clearance operations. These were for £60,000, £199,886 and £232,520. We have also provided £6,415 for a mine awareness radio programme. Two further project proposals from the Halo Trust at a proposed cost of £330,000 are under consideration.
Until the end of October 1993, our multilateral support consisted of the United Kingdom contribution to the costs of the United Nations Transitional Authority for Cambodia—UNTAC—which financed mine clearance operations undertaken by the Cambodian mine action centre—CMAC. Since the end of UNTAC's mandate, we have provided £133,000 through the United Nations Development Programme—UNDP—to support the continuance of CMAC's operations. A UNDP proposal for support to CMAC for two years is under consideration by donors. Our aid is aimed at reducing casualties caused by mines.
Additionally, we have provided £470,140 over the past three years to set up and run a limb-fitting unit at Calmette hospital in Phnom Penh. The project includes the training of Cambodian technicians in limb-fitting techniques. We have also begun funding a similar project in Kompong Som in southern Cambodia and have agreed funding of £249,741 for this over three financial years.

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on each of the activities funded by his Department relating to the clearance of land mines in Somalia; which of these activities are being carried out on(a) a bilateral or (b) a multilateral basis; and whether any further aid will be given for medical attention of casualties of land mines.

§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd
From November 1991 until May 1993 we co-funded, bilaterally, the training and supervision of over 220 members of the local "humanitarian mine clearance pioneer corps" in a major mine clearance programme in and around Hargeisa in the heavily mined north-west of the country. Over this period we contributed £673,540 to the work undertaken by the British company Rimfire International. Our aid has been aimed at reducing casualties caused by mines. The work is continuing as a programme of the United Nations operations in Somalia.
We have not received any proposals to provide medical assistance specifically for casualties of land mines, but remain willing to help in this area if requested.

§ Mr. Cohen
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on each of the activities funded by his Department relating to the clearance of land mines in Afghanistan; which of these activities are being carried out on(a) a bilateral or (b) a multilateral basis; and whether any further aid will be given for medical attention of casualties of land mines.

§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd
Since April 1992 we have funded, bilaterally, the training and supervision of two teams of Afghan mine clearers. The programme operates in the Shomali valley with the aim of facilitating the safe return of refugees and displaced people to the area. We have so460W far contributed £479,531 for this work undertaken by the British non-governmental organisation the Halo Trust. Our aid has been aimed at reducing casualties caused by mines.
The mine clearance programme in Afghanistan is co-ordinated by the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan—UNOCHA. Britain is one of the main contributors to the programme. In 1992 we provided £500,000 to UNOCHA for this purpose, and a further £1 million in 1993.
The European Community also finances mine clearance by contributing to European and local non-governmental organisations including those operating under the UNOCHA programme in and around Herat. Part of the funding for this is attributable to the United Kingdom.
We are currently considering proposals which could provide medical assistance specifically for casualties of land mines, but the current insecurity in the country precludes an early start to any such operations.