§ Mrs. SpelmanTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what discussions her Department has had with(a) the Government of Indonesia, (b) the Government of East Timor and (c) the UNHCR to ensure the return of children being held illegally in West Java to their families in East Timor; [80569]
(2) what assessment her Department has made of the number of East Timorese children being held illegally in West Java; and what assessment her Department has made of the number of children that have been returned to their families in East Timor. [80568]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienI have been asked to reply.
The violence and confusion surrounding the 1999 referendum on East Timor's status and the subsequent Indonesian withdrawal led to some children becoming separated from their families. There are no reliable figures for the number of children that were separated but the UNHCR estimates around 800 cases remain unresolved, mostly in West Timor.
We are in regular contact with the UN Mission in East Timor and UNHCR on this sensitive issue, most recently, on 4 October 2002. We have also encouraged the Governments of Indonesia and East Timor to find a solution to this problem.