Vol. 372 No. 6
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the extent of the famine in Mozambique which has been caused to a large extent by South African-backed terrorist action; if the Council of Ministers has taken any action to relieve the plight of the Mozambique people; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
40.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the plight of 4.5 million people in Mozambique; and the relief measures if any, his Government has undertaken, to alleviate the victims of the drought and fighting.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 40 together.
I am aware of the emergency situation in Mozambique and the fact that an estimated 4.5 million people are seriously affected by famine due to a combination of drought and civil conflict. My Department have been carefully monitoring the situation in Mozambique and in that connection Ireland was represented at a major meeting of donor countries convened by the Secretary General of the United Nations in Geneva on 31 March 1987 to assess the latest developments in regard to relief operations in Mozambique. In the light of information presented at the meeting and of more recent reports of a further deterioration in the situation in Mozambique, the Government announced on 30 April 1987 that it was allocating £40,000 from its disaster relief fund for a range of relief operations in Mozambique.
The Foreign Ministers of the Twelve member states of the European Community have on several occasions discussed the situation in Mozambique, mostly in the context of developments in southern Africa. The Twelve have frequently condemned South Africa's military attacks on neighbouring countries and its efforts at destabilising those countries. Most recently the Twelve condemned South Africa's raid into Zambia last month. In October 1986 the Twelve, in a statement expressing serious concern at reports that South Africa was contemplating military action against Mozambique, strongly urged the South African Government to show full respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of their neighbours.
To date this year the European Community has allocated 3.15 million ECU or approximately IR£2.5 million for relief activities in Mozambique and, in addition, is committed to providing food aid to the value of 26 million ECU with an additional 1.5 million ECU to cover transportation costs, totalling IR£21.5 million.
