§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will obtain reports from Her Majesty's ambassadors stationed in countries currently or recently suffering from war and armed conflict on the degree to which children have been pressed into direct military action; and what is Her Majesty's Government's policy on aid or expedient support for Governments permitting children to be trained for military service. [2734]
§ Mr. HanleyWe receive regular reports from our representatives overseas. As part of our good governance policy, we always take account of a Government's level and use of military expenditure when deciding our allocations of bilateral aid.
We take every opportunity to urge those countries which have ratified the UN convention on the rights of the child to comply fully with the relevant sections of article 38 of the convention, which deals with children in armed conflict.
§ Mr. SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what programmes or projects are currently supported by the overseas aid budget to establish post-conflict trauma aftercare for children in developing countries which have suffered from civil war or other armed conflict. [2736]
§ Mr. HanleyThe most effective interventions to assist children who have been affected by conflict are those which seek to provide a normal, stable environment for child development. We adopt a holistic approach to post-conflict situations through normal economic and social rehabilitation activities, supplemented by more targeted programmes, such as child tracing or family reunification. For this purpose, we have supported Save the Children programmes in Gaza and the west bank, Liberia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zaire, Serbia and Montenegro, Red Cross services in Angola and UNICEF programmes in Burundi and the former Yugoslavia.