Written question asked by Lord Hylton (Crossbench), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Baroness Verma (Conservative) on Monday, 21 March 2011.

Libya

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are providing emergency assistance to the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) to aid persons fleeing Libya; and whether they will call on Tunisia and Egypt to co-operate with the UNHCR to the best of their abilities.

Answer: During his 4 March visit to the Tunisian-Libyan border, the Secretary of State for International Development praised the work of the Tunisian authorities in providing valuable support to the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR). He welcomed the Egyptian authorities' commitment and co-operation, which was also noted by Rashid Kalikov, the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Libya, during his 10 March visit to Cairo. The UK was the first country to respond to the UN High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organisation for Migration (IOM) appeal for financial and logistical support to help repatriate people on the Libya-Tunisia border. For example, in response to a UNHCR request, the Department for International Development (DfID) has sent 38,000 blankets and 1,400 tents, providing shelter for up to 10,000 people stranded at the Libya-Tunisia border. In addition, two DfID Air Logistics Officers have joined UNHCR's Humanitarian Evacuation team to help the smooth running of the airlift operation. We continue to work with the UNCHR to get help to those in need and to make sure that we have the right supplies and people in position to be able to react to all eventualities.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 7470; 726 c120-1WA
Session: 2010-12
Subjects: Development aid Repatriation Egypt Libya Tunisia UN High Commissioner for Refugees
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk