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From
House of Commons Hansard Westminster Hall Debate 31st January 2005
Mr. Sadiq Khan (Tooting)
(Lab): I also congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing
this important debate and on generously giving way to three
colleagues so far. We have talked about the numbers, but,
important though the aid is, does he agree that it is also
important to give people their dignity back? That could be
done at a micro-level by enabling amputees to return to
work, for example, and on a larger scale by reforming trade
policy, to enable the country to trade its way out of
destruction and allow people to rebuild their country
themselves.
Mr. Wilson : I thank the hon.
Gentleman for raising that important point, which I shall
return to later.
It would be helpful if the Minister could tell us the
Government's long-term strategy of support. For example,
what plans for long-term reconstruction have been drawn up?
Do those plans have clear, measurable targets, goals and
milestones? Will the process be independently audited by the
National Audit Office?
I thank the hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Khan) for his
intervention, and perhaps I can make a few suggestions about
what Britain can do. Pakistan will continue to need money to
help with reconstruction. I hope that we continue to be
generous with our aid, working closely with the Pakistan
Government to carefully target it for maximum impact. The
British Government can encourage community organisations,
and particularly the corporate sector, to take part in the
reconstruction effort, by securing priority projects such as
housing, schools and hospitals in the quake-affected
regions.
Mr. Khan
: Before my hon. Friend moves on to rehabilitation and
reconstruction, will he comment on whether he believes that
the international rescue and relief operation was adequate?
We know of the great strides that our Government took, but
was the international effort adequate? Secondly, have our
Government and, more importantly, the international
community, learned any lessons?
Mr. Thomas : If my hon. Friend will
forgive me, I will come to that when I talk about the relief
effort. A number of lessons that have been learned from the
tsunami have helped to influence our response. The
earthquake in Pakistan and the international response to it
has added fuel to the case for investment in a central
emergency revolving fund—an international fund to help UN
agencies in the immediate aftermath of a disaster better to
meet the needs of the affected communities. I am pleased to
say that we have now secured United Nations General Assembly
support for the launch of CERF and we hope that it will be
operational by the end of March.
As my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Khan) and
the hon. Member for Reading, East have said, we have been
playing a strong role during the relief effort, committing
some £58 million-worth of support. We will continue to play
a major role during reconstruction, both as a trusted
partner of the Government of Pakistan and as one of the
largest bilateral donors in that country. I pledged some £70
million for the reconstruction programme at the donors
conference in Islamabad last November. We are working with
the Government and other donors to ensure that the lessons
from previous natural disasters are included in both the
relief effort and the long-term reconstruction effort.
Some hon. Members will be aware, particularly those who have
visited the affected areas, that such is the nature of the
terrain—the area is remote and mountainous—that it is
probably more challenging for the relief effort to help
people to deal with the impact of the earthquake than it was
to help those affected by the Asian tsunami. Road links have
been badly affected, necessitating the extensive use of
helicopters for relief support. In many areas the only means
to get relief to those affected has been by Pakistani army
patrols using mules. The harsh conditions of the Himalayan
winter provide a further constraint on the rapid provision
of adequate shelter and present a clear risk to survivors.
The earthquake, coming as it did just before the immediate
onset of winter, allowed only a short opportunity for
emergency shelter and other critical facilities to be put in
place.
Mr. Khan
: My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Central (Mr.
Sarwar) and I and other colleagues met the excellent Chinook
team out there. Does the Minister agree that we should also
pay tribute to our charities—both to those on the Disasters
Emergency Committee, such as the British Red Cross and
Islamic Relief, and others not on the DEC that are doing
sterling work, such as Muslim Hands and Helping Hands? Will
he comment on today's comments of Save the Children? It said
that there is an urgent need for more permanent shelter for
the earthquake-affected communities in Pakistan. Although
the Minister has confirmed that we have given the aid that
we have pledged, what does he think about the fact that Save
the Children has said that
has so far been committed?
Mr. Thomas : I join my hon. Friend
in paying tribute to the work of aid agencies that were on
the ground in Pakistan before the disaster struck and
international non-governmental organisations that responded
to the emergency, such as Islamic Relief, Oxfam and Save the
Children, as well as groups such as Muslim Hands and Muslim
Aid which also responded. I also pay tribute to—and I am
sure that the House would want to record its appreciation of
it—the generosity of the British public in helping to raise
around £50 million for work to support the Disasters
Emergency Committee.
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