§ The Earl of Sandwichasked Her Majesty's Government:
What they have done to increase the capacity of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Albania and Macedonia. [HL1895]
§ Baroness AmosThe Government have made a major contribution to international efforts to strengthen United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) capacity to deal with the outflow of refugees from Kosovo. We are funding a series of airlifts to enable UNHCR and other operational agencies to deploy personnel and relief supplies to the region; we have provided equipment and personnel, including a Department for International Development (DFID) operations manager, to set up a UNHCR airport logistic cell at Tirana airport; and we are putting a convoy of five trucks and drivers at the disposal of UNHCR in Albania. The humanitarian support offices which DFID is establishing in Skopje and Tirana will work closely with UNHCR and seek to identify further ways in which we can support their work.