Written question asked by Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Howell of Guildford (Conservative) on Thursday, 19 January 2012.

Afghanistan

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the mining symposium they held on 30 June 2011, what plans they have to (1) ensure that the Government and people of Afghanistan benefit from the country's mineral resources, and (2) ensure that those resources do not contribute to conflict, corruption and human rights violations in Afghanistan.

Answer: The conclusions of the International Conference on Afghanistan held in Bonn on 5 December 2011 emphasised the need for a regulatory framework to guarantee that Afghanistan's mineral wealth directly benefits the Afghan people. The UK is providing support to the Ministry of Mines to ensure that it is able to develop a transparent and accountable tender process so that there is a mechanism for awarding contracts and access to mineral resources that helps enable the exploitation of the mineral sector so that it does not lead to future conflicts, corruption or the violation of human rights.

Secondary information