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INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Sudan
8. Mr. Prior: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the programme of British assistance to Sudan. [73836]
Clare Short: We were a major donor in the 1998 crisis. There will be substantial humanitarian needs in Sudan this year and we are prepared to continue to help. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) currently holds enough food stocks until at least early summer. I am therefore authorising an initial pledge for 1999 of £4 million for humanitarian assistance which will be available to international NGOs and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). We shall monitor the situation closely in the coming months and, as needs become clearer, we shall respond further as required. We shall continue our dialogue with the UN on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of Operation Lifeline Sudan and will press for progress on the peace process which remains crucial to resolving Sudan's long term problems.
Chernobyl
10. Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid her Department is currently providing to assist victims of the Chernobyl disaster. [73838]
Mr. Foulkes: We provide assistance in response to the Chernobyl disaster through the European Community and through DFID's bilateral aid programme. In total, the Government have provided over £20 million since 1997. The bulk of our support has been for the re-building of the sarcophagus, but we also give modest direct support to Chernobyl charities, especially those helping children.
Debt Relief
12. Mr. Burstow:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department
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is taking to promote debt relief initiatives for highly indebted poor countries; and if she will make a statement. [73842]
Clare Short:
The Chancellor and I have recently proposed faster and deeper debt relief for poor countries. We are working for agreement to cancel $50 billion of debt, and for the money saved from debt repayments to be used to reduce poverty. We are contributing to the review of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. The review is examining how the initiative needs to be redesigned, to ensure that the countries can escape from the burden of debt which prevents them from tackling poverty effectively.
13. Mrs. Ellman:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the effectiveness of aid in contributing to the development of (a) economic opportunity and (b) civil society in the Palestinian Authority. [73843]
Mr. Foulkes:
Assistance from donors, including the Department for International Development, has been crucial in attempting to foster development in the West Bank and Gaza, although the weakness of the peace process and reduction in opportunities to work in Israel have led to a growth in poverty. We are working to help the Palestinian Authority to build a legal and institutional framework in which the private sector and civil society can flourish. But greater transparency and accountability are required, and economic opportunity remains constrained by severely restricted access to outside markets.
14. Mrs. Gilroy:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions she held on development during her visit to Tanzania in 1998. [73844]
Clare Short:
I visited Tanzania, one of the poorest countries in the world, in August 1998. I discussed a range of development issues with the President, government and opposition politicians, and private sector and civil society representatives. I outlined Britain's policy for international development, which matches closely with Tanzania's own poverty eradication strategy. We discussed the urgent need to tackle corruption and to reform the health and education sectors.
16. Mrs. Virginia Bottomley:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development when she last met the chairman of the British Council to discuss collaboration on development projects. [73846]
Clare Short:
I met Baroness Kennedy, the Chairperson of the British Council, on 26 January. We agreed that, although the Council and my Department have different objectives, there is room for collaboration on some activities.
17. Mr. Hammond:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the linkage of good Government criteria to the provision of aid by her Department. [73847]
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Clare Short:
Good governance, which brings effective, equitable and transparent administration and which works to secure all human rights for all, is essential for sustainable development. It is not an optional extra. We support the reduction of poverty and this includes effective and accountable government.
18. Mr. Coaker:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what is the current humanitarian situation in Kosovo and Montenegro; and if she will make a statement. [73848]
Clare Short:
There has been a continuation of violence in Kosovo, leading to continuing displacement of civilians. In recent weeks, an estimated 9,000 people have been driven from their homes. Fighting north of Pristina has also prevented the return of 15,000 people displaced from around 17 villages.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, (UNHCR) in consultation with NGO partners, believe the number of displaced people inside Kosovo stands at about 210,000, while there are an estimated 25,000 displaced in Montenegro.
UNHCR report that assistance has continued almost uninterrupted throughout the month of February despite the violence and severe weather, and that they have succeeded in gaining access to those newly displaced, (except where fighting is actually occurring). UNHCR has coordinated and led three multi-agency convoys every day, six days per week. DFID continue to keep in close touch with the main humanitarian agencies.
19. Mr. Corbyn:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the implementation of the banana recovery plan in the Windward Isles. [73849]
Clare Short:
With the Department for International Development's (DFID) active support, the European Commission have committed substantial funds, including STABEX, together with a technical assistance team, to support the Windward Islands banana industry Production Recovery Plan. However, more still needs to be done by the industry--in terms of restructuring, the planning and management of production, and the implementation of the certified grower programme--in order to establish itself on a commercially viable basis. Both DFID and the Commission continue to encourage and support this essential process.
20. Dr. Tony Wright:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the role of company codes of conduct in protecting labour standards in developing countries. [73850]
Clare Short:
Codes of conduct have considerable potential as a tool for protecting labour rights in developing countries. Last year, my department produced a widely circulated report entitled "A review of UK company codes of conduct". The report contained an analysis of the content of UK company's voluntary codes and showed that codes of conduct are being used by a
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small, but growing, number of UK companies which source their products from overseas. The best of these codes included specific references to the International Labour Office's (ILO) core labour conventions. There is less consensus on the best means of monitoring the effectiveness of codes. We are working to find ways of implementing and monitoring codes in order to assist UK companies work with their suppliers to improve the conditions of workers in poorer countries. My Department is also supporting the Ethical Trading Initiative whose members--companies, development NGOs and Trades Unions--are piloting best practice through monitoring the ETI code of conduct.
Mr. David Stewart:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support the Government are giving to initiatives to raise public awareness in developing countries on codes of conduct on labour standards. [75234]
Clare Short:
The Department for International Development has supported the following initiatives to assist in raising awareness of codes of conduct on labour standards in developing countries:
The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) which provides practical support to efforts to develop codes of conduct and promote positive engagement between UK importers and their developing country suppliers to improve workers conditions (£530,400 over 3 years).
ETI is currently carrying out three pilot projects in the horticulture industry in Zimbabwe; the wine industry in South Africa and the clothing industry in China. The pilot projects are designed to identify ways that companies can improve labour standards amongst their suppliers by addressing the ETI code of conduct. This involves building capacity locally to ensure that there is an understanding of how the ETI code of conduct works.
ETI has also conducted a consultation exercise of developing country based NGOs for their views on codes of conduct (£25,000).
Support to a British based NGO--Women Working World wide--to carry out work in Asia (Bangladesh, Philippines, Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka) and Central America (Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Guatemala) to inform women workers about company's codes of conduct as a part of a workers' awareness and education campaign. (£44,000).
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