Written question asked by Caroline Spelman (Conservative) on Friday, 12 September 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 October 2003. It was answered by Hilary Benn (Labour) on Monday, 6 October 2003 on behalf of the Department for International Development.

Dept for International Development

Question: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development, what recent discussions the Department has had regarding the role of the UN in Iraq.

Answer: Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Minister of State, Department for International Development what recent discussions the Department has had regarding the role of the UN in Iraq. [130311] Hilary Benn: DFID is in regular contact with the UN, both in New York and in-country, about its operations in Iraq and I met Kevin Kennedy, the head of the UN mission in Iraq, during my recent trip to Baghdad. The UN is still assessing the effect on its operations of the bombing of its Baghdad office and the subsequent temporary reduction in the number of international staff in Iraq. The UN has said that it intends to continue to operate in Iraq and that its key humanitarian programmes, including the Public Distribution System for food, will remain operating under the management of Iraqi staff. A current priority for the UN is to complete assessments of its own security provisions and put in place additional appropriate security measures. DFID has offered to help support increased safety and security measures for the UN operations in Iraq. DFID is also involved in discussions with other Government Departments on the role of the UN in Iraq's political development.

Secondary information