§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what advice she has given to aid workers deployed in Kosovo with the support of her Department in respect of hazards posed by the residual radioactivity remaining from the use of depleted uranium shells by allied forces in Kosovo. [117070]
§ Clare ShortI refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Minister for the Armed Forces on 27 January 2000,Official Report, column 225W, where he stated that the health risks from depleted uranium (DU) are assessed as generally low. However, civilian mine clearance organisations have regular contact with many types of unexploded ordnance. KFOR provided the United Nations Mines Action and Co-Ordination Centre (UNMACC) with an information pack about DU which UNMACC distributed to each mine clearance organisation.
The Government have not felt it necessary to provide further advice to general aid workers on this issue. My Department's view is that mines and unexploded ordnance pose a greater risk to assistance workers; all personnel are given mines awareness training before deployment to Kosovo.
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§ Mr. Donald AndersonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development how the contribution funded from her Department for the reconstruction of Kosovo is planned to change; and what implications this has for the overall level of funding. [117162]
§ Clare ShortCommitments from our emergency and humanitarian programme ended on 31 March. However, we shall continue to support the international organisations working in Kosovo and to provide funds for demining. Our bilateral programme in Kosovo will focus on the provision of technical assistance to support capacity and institution building for long-term development, in liaison with UNMIK and departments of the Joint Interim Administration. We plan to provide such support in the areas of economic restructuring, public administration, social policy, media and elections, health and development of civil society. We shall commit £15 million to these activities over the next three years. We also provide approximately 18 per cent. of the cost of the EU programme, amounting to approximately £39 million of the EU's 360 million euro programme in 2000.
§ Mr. Donald AndersonTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what has been the contribution funded from her Department for the reconstruction of Kosovo since June 1999; and if she will list the levels of the contribution of(a) other EU member states,(b) Canada and(c) the USA. [117161]
§ Clare ShortWe have committed £119 million in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance in 1999 and 2000. A further £15 million is available this year for support to the international relief agencies and for demining. Over the same period, other member states have provided a total of 1.1 euros in bilateral assistance. Canada has reported total commitments of 104 million Canadian dollars in reconstruction and humanitarian assistance for the period April 1999 to March 2001. The United States has committed a total of $264.1 million for 1999 and 2000. The equivalent figure for European Community assistance is 802.7 million euros, of which the UK share (currently 18 per cent.) is approximately £84.58 million.