HC Deb 16 February 1994 vol 237 cc768-9W
Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring of the activities of the Economic Community of West African States ceasefire monitoring group have been undertaken by Her Majesty's Government in partnership with the United Nations, the European Commission or directly; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

ECOMOG is deployed in Liberia on behalf of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and is working in cooperation with the UN observer mission (UNOMIL). The UN Secretary General's special envoy for Liberia provides regular reports to the UN Security Council on the progress of the peace process. We support strongly all the efforts to achieve a peace settlement in Liberia.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representation Her Majesty's Government have in Liberia.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

We closed our embassy in Monrovia in 1991 and we therefore have no resident representation. Non-resident coverage is provided by our embassy in Abidjan.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what actions have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to hasten a ceasefire in Liberia.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

We have given strong political support to the efforts of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations (UN) to achieve a negotiated settlement of the conflict in Liberia.

We have contributed US$1 million, earmarked for humanitarian purposes, to the trust fund which the UN has established to support the peace process. Since 1990 we have separately given some £8.8 million of humanitarian assistance to help mitigate the effects of the conflict.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings have been held with representatives of Charles Taylor's forces in Liberia; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Lennox-Boyd

We wish to see a settlement of the appalling conflict in Liberia, and have listened to views from a number of those most concerned. The last meeting with one of Mr. Taylor's representatives was in May 1993, when his then spokesman for Defence met FCO officials in London.