HC Deb 27 March 2001 vol 365 cc540-1W
Ann Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports she has received on East Timorese who are in camps in West Timor. [155027]

Clare Short

Accurate information on conditions in the West Timor refugee camps is difficult to obtain, following the withdrawal of UN staff and international NGOs in the aftermath of the killing of three UN workers in Atambua last September. But the Indonesian Government have managed the situation in the camps relatively well, and there have been no reports of widespread hunger. Some international NGOs, including Medecins sans Frontieres and Save the Children Fund, are considering re-establishing programmes. A UN mission is due in West Timor soon to review the security situation and decide whether conditions are safe enough for UN staff to return. The UN are particularly keen to ensure that all of those in the camps who want to return to East Timor are able to do so by 20 June, to enable them to register to vote in the Constituent Assembly elections planned for 30 August.

Ann Clwyd

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what contributions she is making to alleviate the conditions of internally displaced persons in Aceh, Indonesia. [155026]

Clare Short

We contributed £500,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) appeal for Indonesia last year; and we support the work of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue in Geneva (also known as the Henri Dunant Centre) which brokered the recent "humanitarian pause" in Aceh. We are also working with the UN system in Indonesia to help strengthen its conflict management activities and its response to humanitarian emergencies, whether natural or conflict related.

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