§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions he has had with the United States Agency for International Development about joint approaches to other nations to seek contributions to humanitarian relief in Darfur. [185583]
§ Hilary BennThe Department For International Development has a good working relationship with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and is in frequent contact, both in-country and between capitals, to ensure a co-ordinated approach when encouraging other donors to contribute to the humanitarian relief effort in Darfur. DFID plans to continue working with USAID on a donor lobbying strategy.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of displaced women in Darfur, Western Sudan. [185584]
§ Hilary BennThe United Nations has estimated the total number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Darfur, Western S Alan at 1.2 million. UN agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are currently on the ground assessing the food, shelter and sanitation needs of these people. However, at this time the exact ratio of male to female IDPs is unknown.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of deaths resulting from bombing by Sudanese Government aircraft of locations in Darfur near Chadian border towns in the first three weeks of June. [185586]
§ Hilary BennAt present there is no information to confirm the bombing by Government aircraft of locations in Darfur near Chadian border towns. The ongoing deployment of the African Union-led Ceasefire Commission, to which DFID has contributed £2 million, should help increase the information from the ground.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of villages in Darfur, Western Sudan, that have been destroyed by Sudanese Government forces and Janjaweed militias. [185587]
§ Hilary BennDFID is not able to verify which settlements have been destroyed by the Government of Sudan, Janjaweed militias, Sudanese Liberation Army 283W (SLA) or Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) forces. The Humanitarian Information Unit of the United States Department of State currently estimates the total number of villages destroyed at approximately 347. A further 96 are estimated to have been damaged but not destroyed.
It is not possible at this stage to determine the ethnicity of the people that occupied destroyed or damaged settlements. The African Union has begun
£000 Project or sector aid Programme aid Technical cooperation Aid and trade provision Grants and other aid in kind Humanitarian assistance 1997–98 137 — 369 — 491 4,337 1998–99 115 — 176 — 413 23,497 1999–2000 106 — 15 — 319 2,755 2000–01 97 — 14 — 309 4,491 2001–02 93 — 34 — 322 5,149 2002–03 87 — 407 — 2,696 16,032 2003–04 90 — 291 — 3,445 20,836
DFID debt relief Total DFID programme CDC investments Other Total gross public expenditure
1997–98 342 5,677 — — 5,677 1998—99 — 24,201 — — 24,201 1999–2000 — 3,196 — — 3,196 2000–01 — 4,912 — — 4,912 2001–02 — 5,598 — — 5,598 2002–03 — 19,222 — — 19,222 2003–04 — 24,663 — — 24,663
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has made to the Government of Sudan about(a) the ratification of the International Labour Organisation Convention on the Prohibition and Elimination of the Worst Form of Child Labour and (b) the reflection of that ratification in national legislation. [185592]
§ Hilary BennSudan ratified the International Labour Organisation Convention on the Prohibition and Elimination of the Worst Form of Child Labour on 7 March 2002. DFID's embassy in Khartoum raises human rights issues on a regular basis both bilaterally and multilaterally as part of the EU-Sudan dialogue.