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Entry Clearance

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people in (a) Islamabad, (b) Karachi, (c) Bombay, (d) New Delhi, (e) Calcutta, (f) Madras, (g) Colombo, (h) Jamaica, (i) Barbados, (j) Russia, (k) Poland, (l) Zimbabwe, (m) Ghana, (n) Bangladesh, (o) Lagos and (p) Abuja

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(i) applied for, (ii) were granted and (iii) were refused entry clearance as visitors in (a) 1998 and (b) 1999 to the latest date for which figures are available. [81686]

Mr. Tony Lloyd: The figures requested are as follows:

Visit visa applications 1998

Post	Received	Issued	Refused
Islamabad	38,250	26,737	5,615
Karachi	27,536	22,270	3,116
Bombay	61,450	55,957	4,528
Calcutta(6)	n/a	n/a	n/a
Madras	23,544	23,065	837
Colombo	13,999	12,714	510
Kingston	3,203	2,957	161
Bridgetown	688	615	57
Moscow	76,976	73,172	2,077
St. Petersburg	14,279	13,621	636
Ekaterinburg	2,921	2,837	64
Warsaw	1,139	980	109
Harare	1,511	1,258	258
Accra	22,159	16,130	4,826
Dhaka	12,822	9,823	2,776
Lagos	42,913	29,840	8,351
Abuja	11,331	9,962	1,421
New Delhi	57,804	50,538	7,742

(6) The figures for Calcutta are not yet available

1999 figures will not be available until posts complete their 1999 Annual Statistical Return early in the year 2000. Figures are collated in this way on an annual basis only and could be obtained in the interim only at disproportionate cost.

Falkland Islands (Fisheries)

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if it is his policy to assist the Falkland Islands Fisheries Department to prevent illegal fishing within the Falkland Islands Fisheries Protection Zone; and if he will make a statement; [81879]

(2) if approval has been given for the Falkland Islands Fisheries Department to (a) arm and (b) use a 0.50 inch calibre gun, on one of its fisheries protection vessels. [81876]

Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what steps he is taking to prevent illegal fishing in Falkland Islands waters; [81963]

(2) what assessment he has made of the extent of illegal fishing in Falkland Islands waters; and if he will make a statement; [81961]

(3) what representations he has received about illegal fishing in Falkland Islands waters; and if he will make a statement. [81962]

Mr. Donald Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will approve the application of the Falkland Islands Government to utilise a 0.50 inch calibre gun for fisheries protection purposes. [82217]

Mr. Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will make a statement on the timescale in granting permission for the arming of a Falkland Islands fishery protection vessel with a 0.50 inch calibre gun; [82058]

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(2) if he will make a statement on the timescale in the arming of a Falkland Islands fishery protection vessel; [82060]

(3) what assessment he has made of the level of illegal fishing being carried out in the water around the Falkland Islands; and if he will make a statement. [82057]

Mr. Tony Lloyd: We take the matter of illegal fishing in the Falkland Islands seriously and it is our shared objective with the Falkland Islands Government to combat the problem. Illegal fishing has the potential to undermine the Falklands economy and attempts to conserve fish stocks. Recently, there have been up to an estimated 50 unlicensed vessels in Falklands waters and we assume that all were engaged in illegal fishing activities. The number of vessels now appears to be declining.

In January this year, we authorised the arming of a Fisheries Protection Vessel (FPV) with a 20mm Oerlikon cannon, which is the best weapon for the task of deterring illegal fishing and dealing with it, if necessary. The Falkland Islands Government (FIG) are responsible for the procurement and shipment of the cannon. This process has taken longer than anticipated. We have tried to help FIG speed up the shipment of the consignment but it cannot be carried on a passenger aircraft together with the ammunition needed. Accordingly, the Ministry of Defence has agreed to fly the cannon out on the next freight flight on 6 May.

FIG requested approval for temporary use of a smaller, 0.50 inch, machine gun on an FPV, as an interim measure. This request was carefully considered and a decision was made not to give approval. The machine gun is not a good visible deterrent and there are concerns that warning shots, which the FPV would be required to fire to alert a suspected unlicensed vessel, would not be seen or heard.

As a temporary measure, the Ministry of Defence has agreed to our request for one of the Royal Navy vessels stationed in the Falklands to accompany an FPV on its patrols. We have also made representations to the Taiwanese authorities in London and Taipei, as the majority of unlicensed vessels in Falklands waters are theirs. We shall continue to urge the Taiwanese authorities to bring their fleet under control.

We have received representations on this issue from FIG and its Fisheries Department, several MPs and from members of the public. Commercial operators who are licence-holders have made indirect representations.

We shall continue to support FIG in its attempts to combat illegal fishing.

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the application of the provisions of the White Paper, Partnership for Progress and Prosperity, concerning environmental protection to the waters within the Falkland Islands Fisheries Protection Zone; and what plans he has to ensure that the Falkland Fisheries Department is equipped to implement that policy. [81878]

Mr. Tony Lloyd: Our stated objective in the White Paper: Partnership for Progress and Prosperity is to use the environment of Overseas Territories to provide benefits to the people in them, and to conserve our global heritage by managing sustainably all the Overseas Territories' natural resources. The Falkland Islands

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Government administer the fisheries within their waters and the revenue from fishing licences is the mainstay of the Falklands economy. Effective management of the fishery helps in efforts to conserve fish stocks. Enforcement of the licensing regime is the responsibility of the Falkland Islands Fisheries Department which have two Fisheries Protection Vessels at their disposal. Ministers have authorised the Falkland Islands Government to purchase a 20mm Oerlikon Mk7A cannon for installation on one of the vessels to help deter unlicensed vessels from fishing in Falklands waters. There are no further plans at present.

Mr. Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to assist the Falklands Islands Government to meet its international obligations in terms of conserving living resources around its coastline, as set out in the White Paper, Partnership for Progress and Prosperity; and if he will make a statement. [81877]

Mr. Tony Lloyd: As stated in the White Paper: Partnership for Progress and Prosperity, British accession to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was extended to the Overseas Territories including the Falkland Islands. Article 61 of UNCLOS requires States to take measures to conserve living marine resources in their exclusive economic zones (EEZs). In the Falkland Islands, the requirement is met through the administration of its fishery. The Falkland Islands has no EEZ, nor does it have to declare one.

Article 61 also requires the Falkland Islands to co-operate within regional fisheries organisations to meet conservation and management aims. To promote such co-operation, Falkland Islands Government officials form part of the British delegation which attends regular meetings of the South Atlantic Fisheries Commission (SAFC) with the Argentines. SAFC is a forum for the exchange of information which assists with the management of fish stocks and in which ways of conserving of commercially important fish stocks in the South Atlantic are discussed. We continue to support the European Union in its efforts to encourage Argentina to help establish a South West Atlantic Multilateral Fisheries Agreement.

Child Soldiers

Mr. Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the Government's policy on the use of child soldiers; and if he will make a statement. [82329]

Mr. Tony Lloyd: The Government are committed to bringing to an end the use of child soldiers in contravention of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. We urge all Governments and armed groups to adhere to the international humanitarian and human rights standards that protect the rights of children in conflict situations. We support the work of the United Nations to protect those children affected, particularly the work of the UN Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict. The UK played a leading role in the establishment of the use of child soldiers as a war crime in the statute of the International Criminal Court.

On 2 March 1999, Official Report, column 895, we announced a new UK commitment of £10 million to promote stability in Sierra Leone. A condition of this

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assistance is that children under 16 must not be used by the Sierra Leone Armed Forces or the Civil Defence Force. We believe that this may be the first time that any Government have made non-use of child soldiers an explicit condition of such assistance.

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