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Palestine

Mr. Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answer of 17 April, Official Report, column 995W, on European Commission assistance to Palestinians, what assessment she has made of the cost of damage as a result of military action during the last 12 months to each of the projects listed. [56122]

Clare Short: The European Commission (EC) began assessing damage and destruction to EU-funded development projects since the beginning of the Intifada in March 2002. A detailed list was produced, and a copy has been placed in the House of Commons Library. The EC is keen to update this initial assessment. This has not been possible since the Israeli re-occupation of the west bank, due to restricted access and the levels of violence.

Tanzania

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her written answer of 9 May 2002, Official Report, column 285W, on Tanzania, what assessment she has made of the humanitarian consequences of her decision to withhold aid from Tanzania; and when she expects aid to resume. [57005]

Clare Short: In October 2001 DFID provided £35 million budget support to Tanzania. Our decision to delay disbursement of the next tranche of £10 million budget support has not affected the £35 million budget support already disbursed, or any of the complementary technical assistance programmes and projects that are currently addressing poverty reduction with Government, private sector and civil society partners.

A decision on resuming disbursement of this tranche will be made following the Government of Tanzania's response to the review of the country's civil aviation requirements by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), once the ICAO report has been issued.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to her answer of 11 March 2002, Official Report, column 685W, on Tanzania, what reports she has received from the (a) IMF and (b) World Bank, with regards to their assessment of the impact on development of Tanzania of the purchase of an air traffic control system; and if she will place copies in the Library. [57787]

Clare Short: Neither I nor my Department have received copies of reports from the IMF or the World bank regarding their assessment of the impact on development of Tanzania of the purchase of an air traffic control system. The World bank is still examining value

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for money issues arising from the purchase, and they and the Government of Tanzania are awaiting the impending report from the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

East Africa

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how her Department is responding to the recent floods in East Africa. [56969]

Clare Short: In Kenya, the country worst hit by the recent heavy rains in east Africa, mudslides have killed at least 53 people, and up to 150,000 people have been temporarily displaced by floods. Information from the Kenyan National Disaster Operations Centre suggests that, while the impact in some areas is serious, Government agencies and civil society organisations are coping and are delivering appropriate assistance to those affected. DFID staff are closely monitoring the situation in Kenya and elsewhere in the region.

World Trade Organisation

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which developing countries are members of the World Trade Organisation; and what progress has been made in streamlining the least-developed countries' accession process to the WTO. [56665]

Clare Short [holding answer 16 May 2002]: As of 1 January 2002 there were 111 developing country members of which 30 1 are least-developed in the WTO. These are listed below with their respective accession dates.


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There are major difficulties faced by least-developed countries (LDCs) when attempting to accede to the WTO. The WTO Secretariat, UNCTAD and several donor countries are working to address the issue, but since the inception of the WTO no LDCs have acceded to the organisation. This was recognised in the WTO ministerial declaration at Doha in November 2001 which stated:


The WTO is working to help LDC accession candidates by streamlining the existing process in a number of ways. The aim is to have as few working party meetings as possible, to have clear agendas and work plans on exit, and to move as soon as possible towards the first version of the working party's draft report. However, the WTO would also like to see more action from WTO members, and is encouraging them to be more flexible and realistic in their market access negotiations with LDCs.

DFID is at the forefront of work on WTO accession, and since 1999 we have been providing assistance (£400,000) to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to support developing and least developed countries accede to the WTO on terms consistent with their respective development needs.

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