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Sudan
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if her Department has provided or offered assistance (a) bilaterally and (b) through Operation Lifeline Sudan, to (i) the Government of Sudan, (ii) the rebel movement in Sudan and (iii) non- Governmental organisations active in Sudan, for de-mining projects in Sudan. [71768]
Clare Short: While a state of civil war continues to exist, we will not offer assistance for de-mining projects in Sudan.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when the facilities at Malakal, El-Obeid and Khartoum airports were first offered by the Government of Sudan as air transport centres for Operation Lifeline Sudan humanitarian relief flights; when Sudanese airport facilities started to be used by Operation Lifeline Sudan; for what reasons these internal Sudanese facilities were not used earlier by Operation Lifeline Sudan; and what are the estimated savings to Operation Lifeline Sudan of using El-Obeid and Khartoum airports. [71686]
Clare Short: The Government of Sudan have offered for some years the use of airports in the north of the country for relief flights to the south, but donors have preferred to operate from an independent base in Kenya. Northern Sudanese air strips were used last year for the first time because of the greatly increased need due to the crisis. The difference in cost is not yet known, but a major independent study of Operation Lifeline Sudan, undertaken in 1996, concluded that it would be marginal.
The cost of delivering food by air in Sudan last year was approximately 15 times the World Food Programme's average world wide food delivery cost. Real savings for the relief effort will come from maximising land routes, including rail, for delivery of humanitarian assistance to vulnerable areas of southern Sudan. We are pressing the UN to make progress on this.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list the non- Governmental organisations working in Sudan which have received funding from her Department, or its predecessor, over the past eight years; and what the level of funding for each was in those years. [71765]
Clare Short:
This information is included in the following table.
(5) Estimated
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Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many personnel within Operation Lifeline Sudan directly monitor food aid diversion. [71789]
Clare Short:
The World Food Programme has increased the number of food aid monitors to 125 as part of its response to the joint OLS/SRRA/SPLA Task Force Report.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what guidelines have existed for Operation Lifeline Sudan's procurement of food supplies for its emergency food aid programmes; and if Operation Lifeline Sudan is procuring food from within Sudan itself. [71767]
Clare Short:
Operation Lifeline Sudan itself does not procure food. This is the responsibility of the UN World Food Programme, international agencies and non- governmental organisations operating in Sudan who have a full range of policies and procedures for the procurement of food and related services. Food is purchased from within Sudan when this represents the most cost effective option.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of his staff monitor food aid diversion in Sudan. [71799]
Clare Short:
Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) monitors food aid diversions. We regularly raise this and other humanitarian issues with the SPLA both bilaterally and in concert with OLS. It was discussed most recently on 25 January in London with SPLA's UK representatives and on 26 January in Nairobi at a joint OLS/Donor
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meeting with John Garang, leader of the SPLA. At both meetings, assurances were given that action against food aid diversions would be taken.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) if she will estimate the amount of food aid misappropriated by combatants in southern Sudan; [71796]
Clare Short:
No definitive figures are available and the scale of diversions by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and government supported militias vary with location. During November and December, the UN World Food Programme estimated that 3.47 per cent. of food aid delivered was diverted overall. It is suspected that further losses occur after the food has been distributed.
The Task Force report on a mission carried out jointly by Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS), the Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Association (SRRA) and the SPLA in August 1998 identified a number of cases of diversion. Copies of this report are being deposited in the House of Commons Library.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what official reports she has received on food aid diversion in southern Sudan in the past 12 months. [71792]
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Clare Short:
We received the report of the OLS/SRRA/SPLA Joint Targeting and Vulnerabilities Task Force in SPLA Controlled Areas of Bahr el Ghazal in August 1998. Copies are being deposited in the House of Commons Library.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the effect on the population of the floods in Sudan in 1998, and the effectiveness of the response of the Government of Sudan and the international community to the floods. [71685]
Clare Short:
Many thousands of people were adversely affected by the floods in Sudan last year. We contributed £250,000 towards the flood relief efforts of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies which were timely and well targeted. We have made no assessment of the response by the Government of Sudan or the rest of the international community.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff within the European Community Humanitarian Office monitor food aid diversion in Sudan. [71800]
Clare Short:
Three EC staff are involved with the ECHO programme in southern Sudan. Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) is responsible for monitoring food aid diversions.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has received from the European Community Humanitarian Office on the amount of food aid misappropriated by combatants in southern Sudan. [71798]
Clare Short:
We have received no such estimates from the European Community Humanitarian Office.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many sites in southern Sudan are currently served by Operation Lifeline Sudan; and how many were so served in (a) January 1998 and (b) January 1997. [71766]
Clare Short:
In November/December 1998, the most recent period for which information is available, 103 rebel held areas were served by the UN World Food Programme in southern Sudan. In addition, deliveries were made to Government of Sudan held locations. More detailed information is not readily available.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the amount of British aid to southern Sudan which has been misappropriated in order to purchase weapons and war material. [71790]
Clare Short:
No definitive figures are available on the amount of food aid diversions in southern Sudan. It is important that the peace process is pursued vigorously in parallel with humanitarian relief to minimise the danger of such assistance feeding the war economy. We and the international community are supporting the efforts of the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to broker a long-term agreement and are pressing both sides of the conflict to undertake serious negotiation towards a lasting and just peace.
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Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will list all the agreements and arrangements made to date between Operation Lifeline Sudan and all parties to the conflict in order to facilitate relief operations and humanitarian assistance in affected parts of Sudan. [71684]
Clare Short:
This information is not readily available.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the efficiency, transparency and effectiveness of Operation Lifeline Sudan. [71769]
Clare Short:
Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) expanded its response in 1998 in very difficult circumstances as the crisis in southern Sudan unfolded. The UN and donors have learned several lessons from the experience. We are in close touch with the UN to improve the effectiveness of the operation and are working with them.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the work of food aid monitors within Operation Lifeline Sudan; how many monitors are in the field; and where they are based in southern Sudan. [71791]
Clare Short:
The role of the World Food Programme (WFP) food monitors is to oversee food distribution. They are effective at ensuring that food aid is allocated fairly at distribution points, but less so in preventing some of the food from being diverted between distribution and its eventual delivery to vulnerable households. Since the recent crisis, we have been pressing for firmer action on diversion. WFP has increased the number of food aid monitors to 125. Monitors shift from location to location, depending where food aid deliveries are to be made.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what discussions she has had on food aid diversion in Sudan with her fellow development Ministers in the European Union; [71793]
Clare Short:
Discussions with development and foreign ministers have focused on the main cause of the suffering in Sudan, the civil war, and on how to work with the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the IGAD Partners Forum to achieve a long-term and just peace settlement. Action on food aid diversion needs to be led by the UN System. I have discussed the problem with the appropriate agencies.
(2) what estimate she has received from Operation Lifeline Sudan of the amount of food aid misappropriated by combatants in southern Sudan. [71797]
(2) what representations she has made on food aid diversion in Sudan at meetings of the Development Council/General Affairs Council in Europe. [71794]
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