§ The Earl of Sandwichasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether funding, staffing and programming by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Macedonia and Albania are adequate; and, if not, whether they can help further to strengthen existing HCR capacity. [HL2623]
§ Baroness AmosThe Government continue to offer and to provide assistance to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to strengthen its in-country operating capacity to deal with the outflow of refugees from Kosovo. We are funding a series of airlifts (over 50 to date and further flights are planned) to enable UNHCR, as well as other operational agencies, to deploy quickly personnel and relief supplies to the region. The Department for International Development (DfID) has set up a logistics cell at Tirana airport to speed up the flow of aid into Albania and provided a similar aircraft handling team for Skopje airport. We have provided two convoys of 14 trucks and drivers to strengthen UNHCR's relief operations in Albania. DfID, through its humanitarian support offices in Skopje and Tirana and its London staff, continues to work closely with UNHCR to identify further ways in which we can support its work.