---

United Nations Development Programme

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the progress of the work of the United Nations Development Programme in crisis prevention and recovery. [64976]

Clare Short: Crisis prevention and recovery has been identified as one of the six core practice areas within the UNDP mandate. The former Emergency Response Division which deals with these issues was upgraded to a Bureau in November 2001 and now has greater authority to engage in the inter-agency processes such as the Executive Committee on Peace and Security, and to develop its role in peace building in relation to that of the UN Department for Political Affairs. These are very welcome developments, through which UNDP is attempting to realise the "untapped" potential of the organisation in crisis and conflict situations, as noted in the Report of the Panel on UN Peace Operations (the Brahimi report), published in August 2000.

My Department has observed that strategy and policy development over the past 12 months is starting to deliver demonstrable benefits at the country level. UNDP's transition recovery programme, developed in the aftermath of the earthquake in Gujarat in January 2001, is a positive example of a community-led recovery process which builds on local traditions and capacities. UNDP has also played a key role in drafting the UN's five-year strategy for mine action. The pivotal role of UNDP is clearly recognised by the relevant players in this field, since it has been tasked to lead on 10 of the 40 strategic objectives.

Crucially, UNDP is also beginning to develop policy and tools to deliver conflict-sensitive development programmes. My Department is encouraging UNDP to incorporate conflict assessment into planning and management processes such as the common country assessment and the UN development assistance framework.

However, there is still a considerable amount of progress to be made, before UNDP's role in crises and conflicts will be universally accepted and welcomed by the United Nations family and the broader international community. It is essential that UNDP capitalises on the opportunities which now present themselves and focuses on successful implementation at the country level across

4 Jul 2002 : Column 549W

the full range of technical areas. My Department will continue to work with UNDP's Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery and encourage a continued focus on improving delivery at the field level.

Performance Targets

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the (a) cost and (b) saving has been from the Department's pursuit of Service Delivery Agreement targets in each year since they were introduced. [61642]

Clare Short: Performance against DFID's Service Delivery Agreement (SDA) is reported on annually in our departmental report, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library. The SDA forms an integral part of DFID's systems. Separate analysis of costs and savings from the pursuit of SDA targets could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what has been the (a) cost and (b) saving from the pursuit of the Department's Public Service Agreement targets in each year since they were introduced. [61043]

Clare Short: Performance against DFID's Public Service Agreement (PSA) is reported on annually in our departmental report, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library. The PSA forms an integral part of DFID's systems. Separate analysis of costs and savings from the pursuit of PSA targets could be undertaken only at disproportionate cost.

Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what financial support her Department gave to the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund in 2001–02. [67000]

Clare Short: My Department provided US$38.5 million (equivalent to £26,708,788) to the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund (EAIF) during 2001–02.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [66184]

Clare Short: The various technical and economic agreements reached at the recent Inter-Congolese Dialogue at Sun City represented some progress towards a settlement of the conflict in the DRC, but the key agreement on an inclusive transitional government has not yet been achieved. We are working actively within the UN and directly with the parties concerned to help promote an inclusive agreement, which will be an essential basis for agreeing a constitution and planning elections. We also need to make progress on DDR and a halt to the arming of negative forces so that the security of Rwanda and Burundi can be improved and a phased withdrawal of foreign forces agreed. I plan to visit Kinshasa at the end of July to discuss these issues further with President Kabila and explore what more the UK can do to help.

4 Jul 2002 : Column 550W

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action has been taken by (a) the United Kingdom Government and (b) the international community as a result of the UN Panel investigation into illegal exploitation of mineral resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo published in November 2001. [65559]

Clare Short: The November 2001 report was the second produced by the UN Panel on resource exploitation in the DRC. At the request of the Panel, the UN Security Council took note of the report and recommended that the Secretary General grant an extension of the Panel's mandate for a further six months to prepare a final report which is due in August. It is anticipated that this will provide an updated assessment of the situation and make recommendations to the UN and international community on specific actions which should be taken to help end the illegal exploitation of the natural resources and other forms of wealth of the DRC. We shall study the final report carefully and participate fully in the Security Council's deliberations on its recommendations. In the meantime, the UK has encouraged the Governments of countries mentioned in the Panel's reports to take the allegations seriously and investigate the activities of the individuals and organisations named therein.

Small Arms Strategy

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on the share of the Global Conflict Prevention Pool's Small Arms Strategy that has been spent. [64688]

Clare Short: In partnership with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence, my Department has established a UK Small Arms and Light Weapons Reduction Programme under the Global Conflict Prevention Pool. Over the three years from 2001–02 to 2003–04, we will allocate £19.5 million to UN agencies, regional organisations, Governments and non-governmental organisations seeking to develop and implement local, national, regional and international measures to combat small arms problems. During financial year 2001–02, £3.4 million was spent of an allocated £4.35 million. The under spend has been carried over to the current financial year.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Arms Sales

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on arms sales to (a) India and (b) Pakistan between December 2001 and June 2002; and if he will make a statement. [65409]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: There has been no change in our policy on arms sales to India or Pakistan between December 2001 and June 2002. All relevant export licence applications for India and Pakistan are considered on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria, and in the light of the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Edmonton (Mr. Andrew Love) by my hon. Friend, the Member for Exeter (Mr. Ben Bradshaw), on 15 March 2002, Official Report, column 1296–98W.

4 Jul 2002 : Column 551W

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the United Kingdom's arms export policies in calming tensions between Pakistan and India between December 2001 and June 2002; and if he will make a statement. [65410]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: All relevant export licence applications for India and Pakistan are considered on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria, and in the light of the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Edmonton (Mr. Andrew Love) by my hon. Friend, the member for Exeter (Mr. Ben Bradshaw), on 15 March 2002, Official Report, column 1296–98W. The consolidated criteria clearly set out our commitment to take account of the risk that exports might be used for external aggression.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures he has undertaken (a) to assess and (b) to prevent the diversion of arms to terrorist organisations in Pakistan. [65408]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government focus their efforts on assessment of potential end-use at the export licensing stage, including where needed through checks made by our Posts overseas. Carrying out effective risk assessment on end-users before making the export licensing decision is the best way of preventing arms from falling into the wrong hands. Nevertheless, the Government remain committed to carrying out end-use monitoring in those circumstances where this will genuinely add value to our efforts to minimise the risk of misuse and diversion and where such monitoring is practicable. And our overseas posts have standing instructions to report on reports of misuse of any UK-origin defence equipment. We take these reports into account in our assessment.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what representations his Department received regarding (a) increases in Pakistan's (i) offensive and (ii) defensive weapons capabilities in each month from November 2001 to May 2002 and (b) his Department's assessment as to their effect on relations between India and Pakistan; [65412]

(2) what representations his Department received regarding (a) increases in India's (i) offensive and (ii) defensive weapons capabilities in each month from November 2001 to May 2002 and (b) his Department's assessment as to their effect on relations between India and Pakistan. [65411]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have received numerous representations on India and Pakistani weapons capabilities in the last eight months. We do not record separately whether the representations distinguish between offensive and defensive weapons.

As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said in the House on 25 June 2002, Official Report, column 728, as long as there are one million men under arms on either side of the Line of Control, the risks of a conflict remain significant.

4 Jul 2002 : Column 552W

---