| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
UN Embargoes
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to apply future United Nations embargoes to the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands, at the same time as they are applied to the United Kingdom. [14957]
Mr. David Davis: The Government's policy is to apply future United Nations embargoes to the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, at the same time as they are applied to the United Kingdom.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many United Nations embargoes are currently in force. [14959]
Sir Nicholas Bonsor: There are four United Nations arms embargoes in force against Somalia, Liberia, Angola and Rwanda. In addition, the full economic sanctions regime against Iraq and the partial regime against Libya also include arms embargoes.
Mr. Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the dates on which orders came into effect for implementing United Nations embargoes in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the Isle of Man since 1979. [14958]
Mr. Hanley:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. and noble Friend the Minister for Overseas Development, in another place, on 30 January, Official Report, House of Lords, columns 108-109, in which she listed the dates of the implementation of United Nations arms embargoes in the United Kingdom. The
10 Feb 1997 : Column: 58
embargoes on Libya, Iraq, and Angola came into force in the Isle of Man on the same date as in the United Kingdom. The arms embargoes in Liberia, Rwanda and Somalia--but not former Yugoslavia, on which the embargo has been lifted--came into force in the Isle of Man on 21 December 1996. The only other embargoes imposed by the United Nations since 1979 were on Haiti, the former Yugoslavia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The embargo on Haiti and the FRY came into force in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man on 20 July 1993 and the 5 June 1992 respectively. The arms embargo on the former Yugoslavia came into force in the UK on 22 July 1993.
Mr. Austin Mitchell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support Her Majesty's Government plan to provide to the action taken by the Association of British Civilian Internees against the Japanese Government; and what measures he has taken to ensure that the 1951 peace treaty does not obstruct the case. [14782]
Mr. Hanley:
Successive British Governments have accepted that the question of compensation was settled legally by the 1951 San Francisco peace treaty. Although we cannot become involved in legal proceedings, our embassy has provided practical assistance to former prisoners of war and civilian internees when they visited Japan, and we have repeatedly drawn the attention of Japanese Ministers to the claims of the former prisoners.
Mr. Gapes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement outlining the proposals tabled by NATO in Vienna on the modernisation of the conventional armed forces in Europe. [14777]
Mr. David Davis:
NATO is committed to adapting the conventional forces in Europe treaty to the changing European security environment. Our aim is to improve the security of all parties to the treaty by agreeing lower overall equipment limits; enhanced provisions for information exchange and verification; and measures to prevent destabilising concentration of forces in any region. NATO is drawing up a set of proposals to meet these objectives, which it hopes shortly to table in Vienna.
Mr. Gapes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy in respect of the limits set out in the conventional armed forces in Europe treaty, with particular reference to the impact of changes in the former Soviet Union. [14776]
Mr. Davis:
When the Warsaw pact was dissolved, its limits for weapons holdings under the CFE treaty were divided between its former members under the Oslo agreement of 1992. The former Soviet Union's limits were later divided between the relevant successor states under the Tashkent agreement of 1992. During negotiations to adapt the CFE treaty, we and our NATO allies are committed to completing the process of updating the bloc-to-bloc structure of the treaty.
10 Feb 1997 : Column: 59
Mr. Alton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will (a) call on the Government of China to cease their action against unregistered Christian churches and (b) have this issue specifically raised at the forthcoming session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission.[14813]
Mr. Hanley:
Restrictions on religious activity in China and persecution of those who practise outside the official church framework are causes for great concern. We and our EU partners continue to urge the Chinese authorities to regard freedom of worship as fulfilling a basic human need, not as a threat. In the light of this and other concerns, we and our EU partners are giving careful consideration to our position at the 1997 United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
Mr. Alton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will call on the Government of China to release Bishop Zeng Jingmu from prison in Jiangxi province and to ensure he receives adequate medical treatment. [14816]
Mr. Hanley:
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 November 1996, Official Report, column 292.
Mr. Alton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government plan to take to encourage the Government of Turkey to release Melek Akyol and Soner Onder. [14787]
Mr. David Davis:
Our officials in Ankara raised Mr. Onder's case with the Turkish authorities before his trial, and reminded them of the widespread concern about his sentence. We last raised the case of Melek Akyol in September 1996. We will continue to monitor both cases.
Mr. Alton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what account Her Majesty's Government will take of the Turkish Government's treatment of its Christian minorities, with special reference to Syriacs and Armenians, in assessing its policy on Turkey's admission into the European Union. [14788]
Mr. Davis:
The broad criteria for membership of the European Union were set out in the Copenhagen conclusions of 1993. They include the
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 18 December, Official Report, columns 636-37, by what means the United Nations special commission on arms supplies to Rwanda conveyed its opinion on the co-operation received from the United Kingdom Government to his Department. [14962]
10 Feb 1997 : Column: 60
Mr. David Davis:
The chairman of the commission of inquiry into arms flows to Rwanda wrote to the United Kingdom permanent representative to the United Nations on 17 December to convey his appreciation for the co-operation extended to the commission by HM Customs and Excise and the Ministry of Defence. A copy of this letter has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial contribution Her Majesty's Government have made towards the running costs of the United Nations special commission on arms supplies to Rwanda. [14960]
Mr. Davis:
The United Nations commission of inquiry into arms flows to Rwanda has been allocated $1,578,200 from the UN regular budget since its inception in 1995. The United Kingdom contributes 5.32 per cent. to the regular budget and has therefore contributed approximately £84,000.
Sir Michael Shersby:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of the letter from the Falkland Island councillors addressed to the then Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd), and dated 8 December 1994, concerning oil revenues. [14894]
Sir Nicholas Bonsor:
Copies of this letter have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Mr. Alton:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans Her Majesty's Government have to express concern about the death of the Rev. Mohammed Bagher Yusefi in Iran in 1996 at this year's session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission; and what further action Her Majesty's Government will be taking to communicate concern to the Iranian Government about the deaths of Iranian Church leaders in the last three years. [14904]
Mr. Hanley:
We were deeply concerned by the death of Mr. Yusefi and have recently raised his case with the Iranians. We take a very serious view of human rights abuses in Iran. We are still, with EU partners, preparing our position for this year's session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. We will continue to press for tough resolutions and statements on Iran through EU and UN machinery until clear evidence of improved Iranian behaviour emerges.
"stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities".
All countries wishing to join the EU, including Turkey, will need to meet these criteria.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |