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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support and assistance his Department is providing to civic and human rights groups in (a) Colombia, (b) Ecuador, (c) Bolivia and (d) Peru. [101511] Mr. Battle: The information is as follows: (a) Columbia: Our Embassy in Bogota maintains close contacts with a range of civic and human rights groups in Colombia. Through the FCO's Conflict Prevention Fund and the Embassy's Small Grants Scheme, we have contributed funds to a number of groups, such as The Citizen's Mandate for Peace, Life and Liberty Project Fund, which encourages debate within civil society. We have also contributed funds towards human rights organisations monitoring the human rights situation in the department of Antioquia (amongst the most violent departments in Colombia). We also provide human rights training to the Colombian Police Force. (b) Ecuador: We work closely with a number of independent human rights groups including the Human Rights Permanent Assembly (APDH) and the Latin American Human Rights Association (ALDHU). More than £41,000 has been disbursed from the Human Rights Project Fund this financial year to promote rights awareness in Ecuador. This includes funding for a project being administered by APDH to encourage young people to learn about their human, social, economic and cultural rights and how to promote them. In addition, the British Embassy in Quito are supporting a number of other projects aimed at helping street children, indigenous groups and disadvantaged women. (c) Bolivia: £42,500 has been provided this financial year from the Human Rights Project Fund to support the office of the Human Rights Ombudsman. The Ombudsman, Mrs. Ana Maria Romero, paid a successful Foreign and Commonwealth Office Sponsored Visit to the UK in November 1999. The main purpose of her visit was to see how the British Government promote human rights. Our Embassy in La Paz have close contacts with a number of human rights groups in Bolivia including Red Andina, CEDOIN, the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights and AMANACER, a charity which helps street children. (d) Peru: We maintain close and regular contact with a number of NGOs and independent human rights groups in Peru including the National Co-ordinator for Human Rights, an umbrella organisation which represents more than 50 NGOs working in the human rights field. We also maintain close contact with both the Ombudsman and the Ad Hoc Commission of Human Rights. In November 1999, the Deputy Ombudsman of Peru, Dr. Gino Costa, paid a successful FCO Sponsored Visit to the UK. He attended a human rights seminar in the House of Lords, and was keen to hear about HMG's policies on human rights, particularly in the context of Northern Ireland. We have provided £61,961 this financial year from the Human Rights Project Fund to assist the Ombudsman and Commission with its work and research. In November, the Department for International Development provided more than £20,000 for an electoral assistance project in Peru. More than £93,000 has been disbursed since April 1999 from HRPF to support projects administered by independent human rights groups.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

340 c516-7W; 101511

Session

1999-00

Subjects

Civil liberties Development aid Human rights Colombia Bolivia South America Peru Ecuador

Contains statistics

Yes