International Aid Transparency debate
Brooks Newmark highlights work by the Conservative party giving an example where 120 MPs and volunteers went to Rwanda to show what can be done to help those in developing countries.
Mr. Brooks Newmark (Braintree) (Con): Does my hon. Friend agree that the Conservative party, in pursuing this initiative over the past two years-for example in Rwanda, where 120 MPs and volunteers went this year-is leading from the front in terms of showing people what we can do to help those in developing countries?
Mr. Mitchell: My hon. Friend is right. There are many policy areas where Conservative Members have been leading, coaxing and encouraging the Government, with modest success in some cases.
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Mr. Newmark: On the subject of that conflict, does my hon. Friend think it helpful that Mrs. Rose Kabuye, the President of Rwanda's chief of protocol, was arrested just four days ago during an official visit to Germany, as a result of a highly dubious decision by a French provincial judge?
Mr. Mitchell: My hon. Friend makes a fair point. Considerable concern has been expressed about the improbability of the charge that Mrs. Kabuye faces and about the process being conducted. Perhaps my hon. Friend has heard what Louis Michel, the European Commissioner, said yesterday. He doubts the validity of the French report that led to Mrs. Kabuye's arrest and has called on the French judiciary to establish the truth. My hon. Friend will also have noted the concern expressed by the African Union that the decision amounts to pursuing a French Rwandan agenda, which is most unhelpful at this time. I very much agree.