HC Deb 20 November 2002 vol 394 cc194-5W
Mrs. Spelman

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment her Department has made of the reintegration of ex-soldiers into civil society in Angola. [80566]

Clare Short

The formal reintegration of ex-soldiers has not yet started in Angola. The Government of Angola is in the process of developing its Angola Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme (ADRP), with assistance from the World bank. Until the ADRP has been agreed, little progress will be made on putting in place appropriate social structures to receive the ex-combatants. It is therefore essential that the ADRP is finalised as soon as possible, in close collaboration with the international community. This programme should be consistent with the Government's own Norms for Return and Resettlement. It should also be set in a broader framework encompassing the return of refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs).

Mrs. Spelman

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the progress of the National Reconciliation Programme in Angola. [80567]

Clare Short

Following the cease-fire in Angola, the National Reconciliation Programme has been replaced by the National Commission for the Social and Productive Reintegration of the Demobilised and Displaced. The new commission's detailed priorities have not been made clear to the international community; nor have the spending plans associated with them. With the help of the World bank, the Government of Angola is working on an immediate post-conflict recovery plan which the international community expects will be presented to donors at a conference organised by the Government of Angola in the first quarter of 2003. Until the international community has seen the document, it is difficult to comment on the Government's plans.

Without national reconciliation, a fully inclusive national dialogue, and sustainable poverty reduction, the cease-fire is unlikely to be transformed into a lasting peace. We take every opportunity to make this clear to the Government of Angola. My Department is establishing an office in the British embassy in Luanda which will help to strengthen further HMG's efforts to ensure a peaceful transition in Angola.