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Dept for International Development

Answer

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what measures his Department is taking to limit the number of deaths and injuries in Afghanistan resulting from unexploded ammunition; and what proportion of such deaths and injuries has been of children. [218823] Hilary Benn: DFID is supporting mine and undeveloped ordinance clearance in Afghanistan. In the period 2002-04 we provided £3.8 million to the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) for its clearance work in Afghanistan. DFID is also supporting the Halo Trust's Weapons and Ammunition Disposal Programme through its contribution to the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP). In 2004-05, the GCPP has provided £430,000 to this programme, which is focused on destroying excess ammunition and small arms, much of which is unserviceable and unsafe. It is difficult to obtain precise information casualties from landmine and unexploded ammunition in Afghanistan. However, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, in 2003 (the latest year for which there are figures) there were 846 new casualties, of which 184 resulted in death. Of the 846 casualties, 384 casualties were children under the age of 18 years. The information available does not provide a breakdown by age of the casualties resulting in death.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

218823; 431 c946-7W;431 c942-3W

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Children Ammunition Death Casualties Bomb disposal Injuries Afghanistan

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk