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INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Mr. Caton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will make a statement on progress made with the alternative livelihoods elements of the drug strategy in Afghanistan. [127132]

Hilary Benn: Eliminating illicit opium production in Afghanistan is a long-term challenge. The Afghan Government has set a target for eliminating cultivation within 10 years. The development of alternative livelihoods for poor people currently involved in opium production will take time. But work has started on a number of livelihoods programmes.

The Department for International Development (DFID) is providing £20 million over three years to our livelihoods programme in Afghanistan. We are working with the Afghanistan Transitional Administration and maintaining coordination with other donors to develop and implement a coherent national sustainable livelihoods strategy for Afghanistan.

Our main contribution to implementing the Afghan national counter-narcotics strategy is in facilitating opportunities for those currently involved in poppy cultivation to obtain alternative livelihoods, based on legal activities either in agriculture, small businesses or employment.

We are funding with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (£3.75 million) and the Aga Khan Development Network (£1 million) to pilot targeted livelihoods projects in areas affected by poppy cultivation. Lessons learnt from these projects can then be built on and incorporated into the national strategy.

We are also funding programmes under the National Development Budget, such as the National Solidarity Programme (£2 million in this financial year), to provide greater social protection and better natural resource management. In support of these programmes we are working with other donors to provide a flexible package

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of technical assistance and training resources to increase the capacity of the Ministries of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and Agriculture and Animal Husbandry to manage priority investment programmes relevant to rebuilding livelihoods.

Mr. Caton: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what liaison there will be between NGOs, UN agencies and the Transitional Administration in implementing Afghanistan's budget programmes. [127134]

Hilary Benn: The Afghan Government has established a system of Consultative Groups, which cover a wide range of policy areas crucial to the reconstruction process such as Health, Education, Infrastructure, Refugees and Returnees and Security amongst others. The Consultative Groups facilitate effective cooperation between the various donor governments, NGOs, UN agencies and other aid organisations in the planning, financing and implementation of the goals outlined in the National Development Budget for Afghanistan.

Linda Perham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what recent representations the Department has received on international investment in Afghanistan. [127790]

Hilary Benn: DFID has received recent representations from a UK based International Management Consultancy, McKinsey and Company. The company has developed a proposal on behalf of the Afghan Minister of Finance for a Venture Capital Fund to be launched in November 2003. The Fund will provide entrepreneurs with capital and business coaching. The proposal is being considered by officials.

My Department has also received representations from Standard Chartered Bank. It will, as soon as relevant banking legislation is passed, be the first international bank operating in Afghanistan.

John Barrett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development if he will make a statement on the humanitarian consequences of the flooding of (a) southern and (b) north eastern districts of Afghanistan. [127936]

Hilary Benn: Recent wet weather has brought relief to Afghanistan after years of drought; however many houses in the poverty-stricken country are held together with mud and timber and are ill-equipped to cope with heavy rains.

In May of this year three people were killed, 30 houses destroyed and 70 partially damaged as a result of heavy rainfall and flash floods in Baghlan, Kunduz and Takhar provinces in north eastern Afghanistan. Most personal belongings and food reserves were destroyed or buried in mud. Large swathes of arable land were also covered in mud following the floods.

In the southern province of Helmand, at least 30 people were killed after powerful floods washed away their houses on 20 April.

DFID is supporting the work of the UNHCR in Afghanistan (£5.8 million so far in 2003) who supplied tents, soap and food items to affected families through

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the local disaster management structure. Also the FAO has provided advice on remedial action, which can be taken by farmers to salvage their crops.

Botswana

Angus Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what criteria the Department applies to the classification of groups of people as indigenous peoples; how these criteria apply to the classification of the (a) Gana, (b) Gwi and (c) Bakgalagadi peoples of Botswana; what discussions the Department has had with the Government of Botswana on this issue; and if he will make a statement. [128044]

Hilary Benn: There is no universally agreed definition of the criteria for classifying certain groups as indigenous people. The Government does not have its own hard and fast definition. We recognise that indigenous people are often particularly poor and vulnerable, and encourage governments to consult carefully with them about their needs and interests. We have discussed the situation of San communities in Botswana at ministerial level on several recent occasions.

Burundi

Mr. Love: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what action the Department has taken to assist in improving the systems of justice to deal with war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burundi; and if he will make a statement. [127819]

Hilary Benn: A number of donor countries are providing support to the justice sector in Burundi, particularly Belgium. DFID's support therefore focuses on a number of other areas equally critical to Burundi's prospects where we feel we can have an important role. These include political and financial help to support the delivery of a lasting ceasefire and implementation of the Arusha Accords; support for demobilisation and reintegration and security sector reform; development and implementation of a national poverty reduction strategy; increased management capacity to ensure macro-economic stability; the implementation of a national plan for HIV/AIDS prevention; as well as on-going humanitarian assistance. We are working closely with our international partners to achieve these objectives.

John Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assessment he has made of the humanitarian situation in Bujumbura, Burundi. [128150]

Hilary Benn: The general humanitarian situation in Burundi remains poor, with very high levels of malnutrition, and, resulting from this, high levels of mortality. There are serious problems of access to some communities.

So far this financial year we have provided funding of £400,000 through Medecins Sans Frontieres for medical support in Bujumbura Rural and nutrition programmes in Karuzi. We are about to make a contribution of £500,000 to the UN Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeal

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2003 and are currently considering a number of humanitarian proposals from other international NGOs and agencies.

We stand ready to make further responses to the humanitarian needs of those most vulnerable, focusing on health and nutrition support through international relief organisations.

John Robertson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what assistance his Department is giving to displaced persons on Bujumbura, Burundi. [128145]

Hilary Benn: The UK's humanitarian support to Burundi includes a £400,000 grant to Medecins Sans Frontieres for emergency health work, which benefits displaced persons in Bujumbura by increasing access to basic health and to emergency surgical services. We envisage a further £500,000 contribution to the UN Consolidated Appeal in the near future. We continue to monitor the humanitarian situation and will continue to respond to requests for support in line with perceived humanitarian priorities.

Chad

John Barrett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what action his Department is taking to help Central African Republic refugees living in southern Chad. [127933]

Hilary Benn: We do not provide bilateral assistance to the Central African Republic or to the Republic of Chad. Our development assistance is provided throughmultilateral channels such as the EC and the UN agencies that operate in the two countries.

Common Agricultural Policy

John Barrett: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what impact recent reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy will have on developing countries. [127940]

Hilary Benn: The deal agreed by the Agriculture Council on 26 June represents a real shift in agricultural policy which will benefit developing countries as well as European farmers and taxpayers. The most important change is the de-linking of support from production, but there have also been significant changes to some commodity regimes. The reforms should connect European farmers more closely to the market and begin to reduce excessive production which results in dumping and harms developing countries, The deal will also pave the way for reforms to other EU commodity regimes and most importantly should give new momentum to the current round of WTO agriculture negotiations.

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