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Land Mines
4. Mr. David Marshall: What assistance her Department is providing to reduce the number of active land mines throughout the world; and if she will make a statement. [29613]
10. Mr. Jim Murphy:
If she will make a statement on progress on land mine clearance programmes. [29619]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. George Foulkes):
We were all delighted when my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development signed the Ottawa convention on behalf of the United Kingdom Government. We are doubling our expenditure on de-mining and we are working for greater international co-operation and building up more local capability in order to speed up de-mining worldwide.
Mr. Marshall:
My hon. Friend is well aware that the Inter-Parliamentary Union was the first international forum to debate anti-personnel land mines and that it continues to give this issue high priority. What specific plans do the Government have to speed up the clearance of land mines and to help the tragic victims of these horrific weapons?
Mr. Foulkes:
I was glad to be present as a delegate when the IPU discussed these matters. I heard my hon. Friend's eloquent speech. I can assure him that we are giving substantial support through the Red Cross, the World Health Organisation and NGOs for victim support, as well as through our bilateral country programmes.
As for speeding up the clearance of land mines, as president of the European Council we are working for much greater co-ordination of our activities. We are having discussions with the Americans and the Japanese. We are also playing a leading role in developing new techniques for mine clearance.
Mr. Murphy:
Is my hon. Friend able to confirm that the policy that the Government inherited would have left the world with land mines planted in it for more than 1,000 years? That is what would have happened if the clearance operation had not been speeded up.
Mozambique recently recovered from civil war but found itself much diminished in resources for education and health. What structures and plans do we have to ensure that the dangerous litter of land mines in Mozambique is cleared?
Mr. Foulkes:
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There are land mines in Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia, Cambodia--Egypt has mines from the second world war--the Falkland Islands, northern Iraq, Laos, Libya and, as my hon. Friend mentioned, Mozambique. There is a huge task to be undertaken. We need to do more, and we will do more in co-operation with other countries to try to remove this scourge, which affects women and children particularly, as quickly as possible.
Mr. Fabricant:
I hope that the Minister will pay tribute to the previous Government, who helped to set up the Ottawa convention. Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there are possibly more than 100,000 unexploded land mines in Cambodia and other parts of south-east Asia? Will he tell the House what measures the British Government are taking in that region?
Mr. Foulkes:
I can assure the House that we are active in Cambodia. We are supporting the mines advisory group and other groups working in Cambodia.
The initiative for the Ottawa convention came from the Canadians--from their Foreign Minister, Lloyd Axworthy. My right hon. Friend and her Cabinet colleagues, with others, rightly took up the initiative. I was pleased that it was my right hon. Friend, on behalf of the Government, who signed the convention.
Mr. Home Robertson:
As my hon. Friend knows, I have done a bit of NGO work in Bosnia. The presence of mines is a genuine worry, especially for people with young families. What progress is being made on de-mining in Bosnia? What co-operation are our authorities receiving from the former warring factions on information about the whereabouts of mines?
Mr. Foulkes:
I pay tribute to the work that my hon. Friend has done. I think that he has driven twice to Bosnia with humanitarian assistance, showing graphically how individuals are contributing to the effort there. I can assure him that we are working with the Japanese Government and our own Ministry of Defence. We are doing everything possible by mapping the position of mines and then de-mining as quickly as possible. I am grateful for his comments.
5. Ms Drown:
What measures she is taking to ensure that the needs and views of poorer developing countries are taken into account during the drafting of the multilateral agreement on investment. [29614]
Clare Short:
My Department is working closely with the Department of Trade and Industry, which leads on the multilateral agreement on investment. We are determined to ensure that the agreement does not damage the interests of the poorest countries and are pressing hard for strong
Ms Drown:
I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply and congratulate the Government on the work that they are doing to ensure that environmental and labour standards are protected. Does she agree that a key element of development programmes is that a Government should be able to control and filter inward investment and that a developing country should be able to protect its domestic industries just as Britain should be able to protect hers?
Clare Short:
With respect, I do not agree with my hon. Friend. Most developing countries, especially the least developed countries, need to attract more inward investment. It is not a question of protecting their own investment, which is limited; they desperately want to attract responsible, beneficial inward investment. The multilateral agreement on investment is meant to cover Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. It is not meant to apply to developing countries. We are concerned to get accession terms that protect their interests should they seek to join and to get a model that will influence the World Trade Organisation's proposed agreement on investment--a model that will cover all countries. The least developed countries desperately need more, not less, inward investment if they are to develop and achieve sustained economic growth.
Mr. David Heath:
I am grateful to the Secretary of State for her comments. Does she agree that we are in the latter stages of the negotiations and many people are still not convinced that there will be no adverse effect on developing countries and environmental standards, and that there are binding responsibilities on multinationals, as opposed simply to rights? Will she give a clear assurance that the Government will not sign the agreement--certainly not in April, which was the original target--until they are assured on all those issues?
Clare Short:
The hon. Gentleman knows that there is no chance of that now. The American Administration have made it clear--[Interruption.] May I answer the hon. Gentleman's question? The American Administration have made it clear that there will not be a signature by April, so OECD Ministers have to decide whether to extend the time. The British Government have made it absolutely clear that we will not support the agreement unless there are binding provisions on labour and environmental standards. That is our position, and it is the position of many countries. Some of the campaigns about the agreement are misinformed. A regulated system that makes inward investment more secure and draws it in is in the interests of developing countries. There are possible benefits for the whole world in preventing country after country from competing with one other to attract inward investment by lowering environmental and labour standards. Those are now the top issues for the agreement and it will go through only if it secures what is beneficial.
Mr. Dafis:
Is not the danger, though, that developing countries will be prepared to take that investment because they desperately need it, even though the conditions that the MAI negotiated between the OECD countries are not
Madam Speaker:
I said only a few days ago that hon. Members should ask only one question. There were about three there and a lot of comment.
Clare Short:
The World Development Movement's campaign on the agreement is misinformed. It is essential to obtain binding agreements on labour standards and the environment and accession agreements that can protect the proper development interests of developing countries. The British Government are committed to those things and, if we obtain them, they will be wholly beneficial. The suggestion that it is Armageddon now is just wrong.
Mr. Alan Simpson:
Is Britain pressing for the inclusion of a clause in the MAI which guarantees the right of developing nations still to impose domestic reinvestment obligations on multinational companies developing in their areas?
Clare Short:
As I have already said, the agreement is meant to apply to OECD countries; it is not designed for developing countries. The principle in it is that inward investment should not be treated any worse than domestic investment, and that investment that has come in should not be taken over without proper compensation, for example. We are adding the labour and environmental clauses. I assure my hon. Friend that we are determined to protect environmental interests, labour conditions and the interests of developing countries, and I am confident that without that there will be no agreement.
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