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Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs at what stage Article 19 of the UN Charter could be triggered in respect of the US non-payment of its full contributions, with particular reference to loss of voting rights in the General Assembly and other UN agencies; and if he will make a statement. [82655]
Mr. Tony Lloyd: Calculations for Article 19 of the UN Charter, under which member states may lose their General Assembly vote if they have outstanding contributions greater than the total of their previous two years' dues, are made on 1 January every year. Article 19 could trigger in respect of the US in January 2000 if it does not pay at least some of its UN arrears this year. The UK and EU urge all member states to pay their UN dues promptly, in full and without conditions.
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the issues raised during his meeting with the Chilean Foreign Minister on 21 April. [82483]
Mr. Tony Lloyd: The Chilean Foreign Minister, Sr. Insulza, cancelled the meeting with my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary at the last minute for logistical reasons. My right hon. Friend has since spoken to Sr. Insulza. For details of the issues discussed, I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford, North (Ms Perham) on 28 April 1999, Official Report, column 180.
Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out Her Majesty's Government's policy on the right of UN members, or regional organisations, to intervene in the territory of other member states on the basis of the near abroad doctrine; and if he will make a statement. [82664]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The United Nations Charter preserves the right of a state or group of states to use force in self-defence in accordance with Article 51; the Charter also allows the use of force under the authorisation of the Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the Charter. Cases have also arisen, as in Kosovo, when in the light of
29 Apr 1999 : Column: 261
all the circumstances the use of force is justifiable in support of purposes laid down by the Security Council when that was the only means to avert an immediate and overwhelming humanitarian catastrophe. There is no accepted doctrine of the "near abroad".
Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out Her Majesty's Government's policy on the application of Article 53 of the UN Charter, with particular reference to Security Council approval for regional organisations' peace enforcing, peacekeeping or humanitarian interventions. [82663]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
Under Article 53 of the United Nations (UN) Charter, enforcement action under regional arrangements described in Article 52 requires Security Council authorisation. Prohibitions on the use of force contained in the UN Charter do not preclude the use of force by state or group of states in accordance with Articles 51 or under the authority of the Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the Charter.
Cases have also arisen when, in the light of all the circumstances, a limited use of force was justifiable in support of the purposes laid down by the Security Council but without the Council's express authorisation when that was the only means to avert an immediate and overwhelming humanitarian catastrophe. Such cases would in the nature of things be exceptional and would depend on an objective assessment of the factual circumstances at the time and on the terms of relevant decisions of the Security Council bearing on the situation in question.
We are working to ensure the closest possible co-operation between the Security Council and regional arrangements. I draw my hon. Friend's attention to the 30 November statement by the President of the Security Council, "Enhancing Monitoring of Activities authorised by the Council but carried out by Member States or Coalitions of States", which has been placed in the Library of the House (ref. DEP 99/333).
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will promote the appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur for East Timor to monitor human rights in the area. [82467]
Mr. Fatchett
[holding answer 28 April 1999]: We are open to any proposal that makes a peaceful future for East Timor more likely. We welcome the visits to Indonesia of the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women last December and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in February, and look forward to the publication of their reports.
In the meantime, we note that the UN Office in Jakarta has access to East Timor; and that the establishment of a permanent UN presence in East Timor was discussed at the latest round of talks in New York, under the auspices of the UN Secretary General, between Indonesia and Portugal.
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Ms Keeble:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the Intervention Board will publish its 1997-98 annual report and accounts. [82853]
Mr. Nick Brown:
I am pleased to announce that copies of the document have been placed in the Libraries of the House today.
Mr. Paice:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received regarding the administrative arrangements for applying for inward processing relief; and what plans he has for reform of the system. [82243]
Mr. Rooker:
Inward Processing Relief (IPR) promotes exports from the EU by putting Community producers on an equal footing with their third country counterparts as regards duty.
Proposals for reform of the administrative arrangements of the scheme have been the subject of discussions in Brussels over the past two years. The aim of the reform is to ensure that the relief continues to be of real financial benefit to EC business.
Regular consultation on the review takes place within the UK's own working group made up of representatives from UK business, including the food processing industry, MAFF, DTI and HM Customs and Excise. The recommendations of this group have been channelled into the discussions in Brussels and have positively influenced the Commission's plans for reform.
The UK fully supports the overall aims of the Commission in its reform and is continuing to press the Commission to speed up the process.
HM Customs and Excise lead on negotiations on this trade facilitation scheme.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what methods are being used for killing badgers in the randomised badger culling trial. [81508]
Mr. Rooker:
Badgers are humanely despatched by shooting.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if a veterinary surgeon will be present when each badger is captured and killed in the randomised culling trial. [81511]
Mr. Rooker:
The despatch of badgers may only be carried out by fully trained MAFF staff following standard operating procedures. Veterinary staff are not required to be present.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what administrative and practical measures have been put in place to ensure that badger welfare is optimised during the capture and killing of badgers; [81509]
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(3) what training is given to new field staff involved in the randomised badger culling trial in identifying badger field signs and in shooting badgers humanely. [81512]
Mr. Rooker:
New Wildlife Unit Staff receive initial training in how to recognise badger field activity from experts from the Central Science Laboratory and then work in the field alongside experienced Wildlife Unit Staff until they are fully competent.
To limit the time that badgers may be left in cage traps, standard operating procedures require that cages set to trap be checked as early as possible the following day and normally no later than 12:00 noon. Trapping will be suspended, if, due to bad weather, there is a risk that cage traps could be flooded or trapped badgers would suffer from extreme exposure. Both temperature and wind-chill are taken into account.
The despatch of badgers may be carried out only by MAFF staff who have been fully trained, tested and issued with an "Authority to use Firearms on Official Business". Such staff receive external and internal training on the safe and humane use of firearms specifically in relation to badgers. Given the importance of this work, action is being taken to appoint an independent auditor to assess the humaneness of the method of despatch and the proper application of these procedures.
Mr. Dobbin:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what performance targets he has set the Veterinary Laboratories Agency for 1999-2000. [83047]
Mr. Nick Brown:
I have set the Veterinary Laboratories Agency the following performance targets for 1999--2000.
(2) what training field staff involved in the randomised badger culling trial have received in killing badgers humanely; [81510]
Efficiency
1. To develop new efficiency indicators that will apply from 1 April 2000.
Service Deliver
2. To achieve 85 per cent. of ROAME R&D milestones.
Service Quality
3. To achieve NAMAS accreditation for rabies serological testing and GLP approval for the small animal accommodation.
Financial Performance
4. To recover the full economic cost (before exceptional items and calculated in accordance with accruals accounting) of its services.
5. To operate within 95 per cent. and 100 per cent. of allocations by the MAFF Management Board for running costs, capital and receipts.
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