§ Lord Alton of Liverpoolasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will give further consideration to the allocation of funds to assist North Korean refugees who have fled to China. [HL2250]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos)The Department for International Development provides funding to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for its annual programme budget. It believes that the UNHCR is best placed to decide how and where to deploy this funding.
The Department for International Development also responds to direct appeals from UNHCR for assistance with specific short-term refugee emergency situations and long-term reintegration programmes. To date, there have been no such appeals for North Korean refugees in China.
§ Lord Alton of Liverpoolasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will raise with the Government of China the arrest and imprisonment of five South Korean aid workers, working as partners of Médecins Sans Frontières, who have been gaoled by the Chinese for assisting North Korean refugees. [HL2252]
§ Baroness AmosWe raise a wide range of individual cases of concern, including North Korean border crossers, with the Chinese authorities. If more information on the five aid workers can be provided (incuding their names) we will consider how best to raise them with the Chinese authorities.
Médecins Sans Frontières representatives based in Seoul did not raise these cases at their meeting with FCO officials last week.