UK Aid (Uganda and Rwanda) Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for International Development
Robert Halfon
Main Page: Robert Halfon (Conservative - Harlow)Department Debates - View all Robert Halfon's debates with the Department for International Development
(12 years, 1 month ago)
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Justine Greening
The hon. Gentleman is making some statements of fact; the reality is that we have a leaked report from the UN group of experts which makes some assertions about what may be happening on the ground. That is going through the UN sanctions committee. Bearing in mind the implications that the report may have on the aid programme in Rwanda, the right thing for us to do is to wait for the UN sanctions committee and, indeed, the UN Security Council to go through that full process and not jump the gun.
Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
Like my hon. Friend the Member for Braintree (Mr Newmark), I also went on Project Umubano—twice—and learnt a lot about the genocide. Given that the world allowed the genocide to take place in Rwanda, does my right hon. Friend agree that the world, and especially the United Kingdom, has a responsibility to help Rwanda recover from it? The question is not about cutting aid to Rwanda, but about targeting it carefully.
Justine Greening
My hon. Friend is right, but at the end of the day we need to be clear that many of the structures through which we can get change on the ground in Rwanda and alleviate poverty for the many millions who still suffer from it will ultimately also be part the Government systems there, which is why many donors have worked so closely with the Rwandan Government to pursue their development programmes. However, clearly he is right, given the history of Rwanda, and the work of the last Government, along with the work that this Government have undertaken with the Rwandan Government, has clearly been successful. It has been one of the most successful aid programmes we have had. Nevertheless, we will look carefully at the outcome of the UN process on the deeply concerning issues involving the M23 and eastern DRC.