Clause 1 - Development assistance
International Development Bill [Lords]
10:45 am
Mr Hilary Benn (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development; Leeds Central, Labour)
I have already referred to UNFPA's negotiation of an arrangement to start work in the 47 counties, to the attached conditions, and to the clear statement that, if the people responsible for these practices are not called to account and punished, it will not operate, so I hope that that answers the hon. Gentleman's question. UNFPA has set itself a clear objective of seeking to engage in order to change practices that we all find deeply objectionable. If I recall correctly, even the hon. Gentleman acknowledged at the start of his speech that we might have had some influence. The Government believe that the programme has had an effect. The hon. Gentleman also quoted the US State Department as saying that success had been mixed, so there must have been positives as well as negatives. It is worth quoting the independent review committee on the fact that progress had been made. It said:
``This view was reinforced by officials at the US Embassy in Beijing, who noted that UNFPA was definitely a positive force in moving China away from precisely the kinds of practices and abuses alleged by PRI. By this measure, they said, the UNFPA programme has been extremely successful.''