§ 16. Mr. DhandaTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the President of Afghanistan on the work in that country of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. [137412]
§ Mr. RammellNeither my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary nor I have had any recent discussions with President Karzai concerning the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The work of that organisation has now been transferred to the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, headed by the UN Secretary General's Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi.
The UK continues to work closely with the UN in Afghanistan, and applauds its excellent work to date, including in the humanitarian field where we have witnessed tangible improvements in the past year.
§ 22. David CairnsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the UN Report, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2003. [137418]
§ Mr. RammellI would refer the right hon. Member to the statement I made on 30 October 2003,Official Report, column 2OWS, regarding the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) survey results for the 2003 opium poppy crop in Afghanistan.
While the increase in opium cultivation and production is unwelcome, it is not unexpected. Experience of counter-narcotic policies in other countries, such as Pakistan and Thailand, shows that cultivation tends to increase before declining.
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