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Turkey

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on the customs union with Turkey; and if he will make a statement. [7596]

Mr. David Davis: My right hon. and learned Friend the Foreign Secretary has had many discussions on the EU/Turkey customs union, and warmly welcomes the European Parliament's decision of 13 December to approve it.

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Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations have been made to the Government of Turkey covering (a) human rights, (b) the imprisonment of Members of Parliament and (c) the occupation of northern Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [7597]

Mr. Davis: We regularly make clear our concern about human rights to the Turkish Government. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister raised this issue and that of Cyprus when he met the Turkish Prime Minister on 22 November. Our embassy in Ankara has frequently raised the imprisonment of the DEP deputies, most recently following the Appeals Court hearing on 26 October.

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of the USA concerning Turkish membership of the European customs union. [7598]

Mr. Davis: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and President Clinton agreed when they met on 29 November on the importance of consolidating the relationship between Turkey and the EU, and that customs union was an integral part of that relationship.

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what actions have been taken by Her Majesty's embassy in Turkey to press for the release of the imprisoned Members of Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [7599]

Mr. Davis: Our embassy in Ankara made representations to the Turkish authorities on a weekly basis in advance of the Appeals Court hearing on 26 October. They have raised it again since. The four deputies who remain in prison have appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions have been held with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and other agencies on the human rights situation in Turkey. [7600]

Mr. Davis: We have not spoken recently with UNHCR about human rights in Turkey although there has been some discussion within the Council of Europe. We frequently hold discussions with non-governmental organisations about human rights, and regularly make clear our concerns to the Turkish Government.

United Nations Compensation Fund

Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the United Kingdom has transferred to the United Nations escrow account in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 778; how much of this has been subsequently passed to the UN compensation fund; if the sum transferred included interest on the original amount; and if he will make a statement. [7608]

Mr. Hanley: A total of US $736,938.12--including accrued interest of US $64,384.69--was transferred in February 1995 to the UN escrow account in accordance with Security Council resolution No. 778. Just over US $221,000 was subsequently passed to the UN

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compensation fund. No other unencumbered oil-related assets have been identified.

Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many claims have been made by United Kingdom citizens to the UN compensation fund for victims of the Gulf war; how many of these have been settled; and if he will make a statement. [7610]

Mr. Hanley: Some 4,990 claims in various categories have been submitted to the UN compensation commission by the Government on behalf of individuals and companies; 1,468 of these have been assessed so far, of which 148 have been settled.

Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the operation of the UN compensation commission fund for victims of the Gulf war. [7612]

Mr. Hanley: The United Nations compensation commission in Geneva was established in 1991, under UN Security Council resolutions Nos. 687 and 692, to deal with claims for compensation for direct loss, damage or injury resulting from Iraq's unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait. Claims have submitted by individuals, corporations and Governments. The commission consists of three parts: First, the policy-making Governing Council. Membership mirrors that of the Security Council; secondly, the secretariat, led by an executive secretary, which is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the commission; thirdly, panels of commissioners, who are experts in international law, finance and other fields, and are responsible for adjudicating the claims.

Having quickly established the machinery to deal with an unprecedented number of claims, it has already assessed 2 million of the 2.6 million claims received.

Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the maximum compensation paid to (a) an individual and (b) a family from the UN compensation commission fund for victims of the Gulf war; and if he will make a statement. [7609]

Mr. Hanley: Compensation has been paid to a total of 3,967 category B--serious personal injury or death--claimants, of whom 148 are British. The maximum that an individual and a family can receive in this category is US $2,500 and US $10,000 respectively.

Mr. Fatchett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the total number and value of payments made under the UN compensation commission fund for Gulf war victims; what was the nationality of the successful claimants and if he will make a statement. [7611]

Mr. Hanley: A total of 3,967 claims amounting to US $13,470,000 have been paid so far. The Governments and international organisations which submitted these claims are as follows:


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Landmines

Mr. Mudie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's policies on the sale of landmines. [6359]

Mr. David Davis: Our national moratorium on the export of anti-personnel land mines comprises, since March 1995, a total ban on the export of non-self-destructing or non-detectable anti-personnel landmines; plus a ban on the export of all anti-personnel

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landmines to countries which have not ratified the 1981 United Nations weaponry convention. Our aim is to restrict the availability of long-lived anti-personnel mines, which are the most dangerous to civilians; and to ensure that even self-destructing mines can be acquired only by responsible countries. We are pressing for international agreement on these lines, inter alia in the context of the current review of the 1980 UN weaponry convention.

Mobile Telephones

Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many mobile telephones have been supplied to his Department in each of the last eight years; and in each of those years how many different suppliers were involved. [8028]

Mr. Hanley: The FCO diplomatic and aid wings had the following number of mobile telephones supplied during the last eight years, from the listed number of suppliers:

YearNumber of phonesNumber of suppliers
198831
1989283
1990283
1991523
1992304
1993192
1994646
1995867

Departmental Staff (Members' Letters)

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials he employed (a) full-time and (b) part-time in his Department in each of the last three years to answer letters sent to him from hon. Members; and what was the estimated overall cost of replying to them in each of the last three years. [5619]

Mr. Hanley [holding answer 18 December 1995]: There are Departments within the FCO which have correspondence units dealing specifically with letters from the general public and Members of Parliament. The remainder deal with such correspondence within their existing staff resources.

To provide a breakdown of the expenditure on these services would incur disproportionate cost.

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