§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many prisoners have died at Gitarama prison in Rwanda since the end of the war; of what causes they have died; and what measures the international community is taking to reduce the number of deaths. [34368]
§ Mr. HanleyThe International Committee of the Red Cross believes that just over 2,000 people have died in 13 Rwandan prisons in the last year, most through health problems caused by overcrowding. Many of these were in Gitarama. The international community has committed $3.5 million through the United Nations Development Programme to improve prison conditions, including the construction of new facilities. Help is also being given to rebuild the judicial system to allow speedier processing of cases; Britain has committed over £750,000 for this purpose.