§ Angus RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on disbursement of the UK Conflict Prevention Fund. [26669]
§ Mr. Ingram[holding answer 11 January 2002]: Policy on the disbursement of the pooled budgets for conflict prevention is determined jointly by the Ministry of Defence, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for International Development, working together with the Cabinet Office and the Treasury.
The aim of the pooled budgets is to reduce the number of people whose lives are affected by violent conflict and the potential sources of future conflict. Strategies to achieve this are planned and reviewed through two sub-committees of the Cabinet Office Defence and Overseas Policy Committee, one for sub-Saharan Africa, the other for the rest of the world.
The strategy for sub-Saharan Africa includes, for example, assisting with building indigenous peacekeeping capacity, as well as conflict resolution and security sector reform in Sierra Leone. Strategies for the rest of the world include regional strategies in the Balkans, central and eastern Europe, South Asia and the middle east, and functional strategies like assisting UN peacekeeping reform and controlling small arms and light weapons.
The budgets also contribute to the additional costs of the UK's support to peacekeeping and peace-enforcement operations. In 2001–02 these have included commitments in Sierra Leone, Macedonia, Bosnia, Kosovo, and the Iraqi no-fly zones. Conflict prevention priorities and strategies are reviewed annually.