Burundi (Hansard, 8 September 2003)

§ Mr. Love
To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what action the Department has taken to assist in improving the systems of justice to deal with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burundi; and if he will make a statement. [127819]

§ Hilary Benn
A number of donor countries are providing support to the justice sector in Burundi, particularly Belgium. DFID's support therefore focuses on a number of other areas equally critical to Burundi's prospects where we feel we can have an important role. These include political and financial help to support the delivery of a lasting ceasefire and implementation of the Arusha Accords; support for demobilisation and reintegration and security sector reform; development and implementation of a national poverty reduction strategy; increased management capacity to ensure macro-economic stability; the implementation of a national plan for HIV/AIDS prevention; as well as ongoing humanitarian assistance. We are working closely with our international partners to achieve these objectives.

§ John Robertson
To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Bujumbura, Burundi. [128150]

§ Hilary Benn
The general humanitarian situation in Burundi remains poor, with very high levels of malnutrition, and, resulting from this, high levels of mortality. There are serious problems of access to some communities.
So far this financial year we have provided funding of £400,000 through Medecins Sans Frontieres for medical support in Bujumbura Rural and nutrition programmes in Karuzi. We are about to make a contribution of £500,000 to the UN Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal 82W 2003 and are currently considering a number of humanitarian proposals from other international NGOs and agencies.
We stand ready to make further responses to the humanitarian needs of those most vulnerable, focusing on health and nutrition support through international relief organisations

§ John Robertson
To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assistance his Department is giving to displaced persons on Bujumbura, Burundi. [128145]

§ Hilary Benn
The UK's humanitarian support to Burundi includes a £400,000 grant to Medecins Sans Frontieres for emergency health work, which benefits displaced persons in Bujumbura by increasing access to basic health and to emergency surgical services. We envisage a further £500,000 contribution to the UN Consolidated Appeal in the near future. We continue to monitor the humanitarian situation and will continue to respond to requests for support in line with perceived humanitarian priorities.