§ The Earl of Sandwichasked Her Majesty's Government:
In the event of a war in Iraq, what is their estimate of the number of displaced persons on which to base a contingency plan of assistance; in how many countries this programme will be in operation; and which United Nations agency will provide overall co-ordination. [HL1931]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos)In the event of military action and significant population movements in Iraq, we would expect the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be the lead international agency in assistance to internally displaced people and UNHCR to lead an assistance to refugees. The Department for International Development (DfID) is holding regular discussions with these and other international172WA organisations about their contingency planning. Estimates of the numbers of people who may be displaced vary according to a range of different scenarios, and plans are being developed accordingly. UNHCR's planning covers all of Iraq's neighbouring countries. DfID is a regular contributor to ICRC's annual Iraq emergency appeals, and has given it £1 million for its 2003 appeal. DfID has also supplemented its core contributions to UN agencies with an additional £3.5 million of funding to date to support UN humanitarian contingency planning for Iraq, including for UNHCR.