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Iraq
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Minister of State's oral statement of 8 February 2000, Official Report, column 29WH, on Iraq, if he will list the food sold by Iraq to Syria in 1999-2000. [110039]
Mr. Hain: We have reliable eyewitness reports from as early as 1998 of Iraqi foodstuffs including dates, honey, rice and cooking oil being exported to and sold in Syria. Some of the goods were clearly labelled as having been donated to Iraq by third countries. The concern of those governments for the well-being of the Iraqi people is not shared by the Iraqi regime.
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Minister of State's oral statement of 8 February 2000, Official Report, column 30WH, what reports he has received from Christine Gosden about disease in the Basra area. [110087]
Mr. Hain: I met Christine Gosden on 26 November 1999 to discuss her findings about disease in northern Iraq, as a result of the murderous attacks on Halabja by Saddam Hussein's forces. We did not discuss disease in the Basra area.
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received since 1 January 1999 from (a) Iran, (b) Jordan, (c) Turkey, (d) Saudi Arabia and (e) the Gulf States about Iraq being a threat to regional peace. [110038]
Mr. Hain: The GCC, in the communique issued after its twentieth summit last year, renewed its call for the need for Iraq to prove its peaceful intentions in word and deed towards its neighbours. Contacts with other regional states confirm that they too remain concerned about the threat posed by Iraq.
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Minister of State's oral statement of 8 February 2000, Official Report, column 31WH, on Iraq, what is the location of the vast regional wetland to which he refers. [110040]
Mr. Hain: In the early 1970s the southern marshes of Iraq covered 5,200 square km west of the Tigris river. Following concerted efforts by the Iraqi government to drain the wetland, including the construction of an east-west dam and a north-south canal, by 1993 very little standing water remained in the area. I have arranged for photographs of the area in 1972 and 1993 to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Minister of State's oral statement of 8 February 2000, Official Report,
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column 29WH, on Iraq, if he will seek an explanation from the Iraqi Government of their reasons for the purchase of bank note counting machines. [110036]
Mr. Hain:
No. The distribution plan for "oil for food" is drawn up by Iraq and approved by the UN Secretary-General. Iraq's last three distribution plans have included allocations for bank note counting machines. On each occasion the Secretary-General has refused to approve this allocation on the grounds that bank note counting machines are not consistent with the objectives of "oil for food".
Dr. Starkey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Israeli Government concerning their recent bombing of power stations in Lebanon. [109963]
Mr. Hain:
We have raised our concerns about the escalation of violence in Lebanon with the Israeli government. We urge all parties to exercise restraint and respect the April 1996 Understanding. These incidents confirm the urgent need for renewed efforts to achieve a comprehensive peace in the region, including implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 425.
Mr. Worthington:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultations he has had with oil companies operating in Angola about restricting oil revenues from funding the war and corrupt politicians. [109253]
Mr. Hain:
I met London representatives of major oil companies active in Angola on 30 November. I made it clear that I was concerned that Angola's oil revenues should be used for the benefit of all the people of Angola. I am particularly concerned that such revenues contribute to enhancing the Angolan skill base and reconstructing her shattered infrastructure.
I made the same point when I met President Dos Santos of Angola in New York on 24 January. I intend to reinforce it when I visit Angola, I hope in the first half of this year.
Mr. Worthington:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made with De Beers to restrict the sale of Angolan diamonds that may be funding the purchase of armaments. [109254]
Mr. Hain:
I and my officials are in regular touch with De Beers about the problems of the illicit diamond trade funding the UNITA movement in Angola. I welcomed De Beers' statement on 5 October 1999 that they would not buy diamonds from Angola beyond those they were contracted to from the Angolan Government, and I have asked for both their views and those of other diamond traders on how an effective certification scheme could be implemented to stop the sale of diamonds in breach of
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UN sanctions. This statement should send a clear message to UNITA that the international community condemns their return to conflict.
Mr. Worthington:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the British Ambassador in Angola about stepping up sanctions against Angola. [109255]
Mr. Hain:
I and my officials are in regular touch with the Ambassador in Luanda and her staff about all aspects of the current situation in Angola, including the need to ensure rigorous implementation of UN sanctions against the UNITA rebel movement and the identification of individual and corporate sanctions breakers. There are no sanctions targeted against the Government of Angola.
Mr. Worthington:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place with the Ukrainian Government about restricting the supply of tanks and other arms to Angola; and what was the outcome. [109256]
Mr. Hain:
UN Security Council Resolution 864 of 15 September 1993 imposed an embargo on the sale of arms and petroleum products to Angola except through specific entry points named by the Government of Angola. The aim of this was to prevent arms from reaching the UNITA rebel movement. Ukraine has made clear its commitment to increasing the effectiveness of UN sanctions. It is currently a member of the UN Security Council. We have been in regular touch with the Ukrainian authorities, both in London and Kiev, about the problems of equipment of Ukrainian origin reaching the UNITA rebel movement in Angola. Ukrainian Government sales of equipment to the Angolan Government are not covered by the UN sanctions against UNITA. I am sending a team of officials to Kiev between 14 and 17 March for detailed discussions with the Ukrainian authorities on how we can co-operate to prevent this.
Mr. Worthington:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what activities are being undertaken by the United Nations to bring about a political solution in Angola. [109257]
Mr. Hain:
Between 1993 and 1998, the United Nations Security Council adopted a range of targeted sanctions against UNITA to reduce Savimbi's ability to rebuild his military capability and encourage him to return to the negotiating table. To ensure the sanctions are as effective as possible, UNSCR 1237 of 7 May 1999 established two expert panels to investigate reports of violations of the arms and oil embargoes, diamond ban and freeze on UNITA funds. They will submit their findings shortly, including recommendations on tightening implementation of these measures.
On 15 October 1999 the Security Council adopted Resolution 1268 to establish a UN office in Angola (UNOA) to liaise with the political, military, police and other civilian authorities with a view to exploring effective measures for restoring peace, assisting the Angolan people in the areas of capacity building, humanitarian assistance, the promotion of human rights
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and co-ordinating other activities. And the Secretary- General has appointed Ibrahim Gambari as his special adviser on African issues, whose responsibilities include Angola. The UN has been working closely with the Government of Angola to agree the Status of Mission Agreement to establish UNOA as mandated by the Resolution. We expect the head of UNOA to be appointed in the near future.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what is her policy on paying her Department's employees overseas the British minimum wage. [106331]
Clare Short:
DFID pays staff appointed in-country overseas according to good employer practice in the conditions prevailing in local labour markets. Pay rates are established by wage surveys among embassies, high commissions and major international companies and organisations. The UK minimum wage was set in relation to UK conditions and has no particular relevance in the overseas context--especially in those economies where inflation may be substantially greater than the low rates prevailing in Britain and where fluctuating exchange rates would make any sterling benchmark figure a continuously variable target.
Mr. Streeter:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the salary is for her Department's locally employed staff in (a) Harare, (b) Dhaka, (c) Nairobi and (d) Jura. [106642]
| Grade | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| A3 | 589,608 | 1,075,704 |
| B1 | 388,752 | 702,648 |
| B2 | 297,972 | 529,572 |
| C1 | 214,080 | 412,872 |
| C2 | 132,420 | 269,220 |
| C3 | 106,548 | 178,872 |
| Grade | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| LE(E) | 555,120 | 610,632 |
| LEII | 417,600 | 506,640 |
| LEIII | 232,440 | 310,980 |
| LEIV | 183,960 | 246,600 |
| LEVb | 154,500 | -- |
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(d) DFID currently has no employees in Juba.
Mrs. Gillan:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of her Department's locally employed staff in (a) Harare, (b) Dhaka and (c) Pretoria are paid below the British minimum wage. [106326]
Clare Short: My Department pays its staff appointed in country in accordance with good employer practice and the conditions prevailing in local labour markets. The UK minimum wage has no particular relevance in those contexts--especially in those economies where inflation may be substantially greater than the low rates prevailing in the UK. Because of the effect of fluctuating exchange rates, the figure requested cannot be determined in absolute terms. It may be estimated by applying the exchange rate prevailing at any point in time to the following data on annual salary rates and the number of hours worked per week:
| Grade | Currency | Minimum | Maximum | Number in grade | Hours per week |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Hararec> | |||||
| A3 | Z dollars | 589,608 | 1,075,704 | 1 | 37.5 |
| B1 | Z dollars | 388,752 | 702,648 | 9 | 37.5 |
| B2 | Z dollars | 297,972 | 529,572 | 12 | 37.5 |
| C1 | Z dollars | 214,080 | 412,872 | 12 | 37.5 |
| C2 | Z dollars | 132,420 | 269,220 | 4 | 37.5 |
| C3 | Z dollars | 106,548 | 178,872 | 3 | 38 |
| (b) Dhaka | |||||
| LE(E) | Taka | 555,120 | 610,632 | 2 | 35 |
| LEI | Taka | 417,600 | 506,640 | 3 | 35 |
| LEII | Taka | 232,440 | 310,980 | 8 | 35 |
| LEIII | Taka | 183,960 | 246,600 | 6 | 35 |
| LEVb | Taka | 154,500 | -- | 2 | 35 |
| (c) Pretoria | |||||
| B1 | Rand | 110,460 | 171,360 | 2 | 36.5 |
| B2 | Rand | 72,590 | 122,640 | 14 | 36.5 |
| C1 | Rand | 52,500 | 81,445 | 8 | 36.5 |
| C2 | Rand | 34,500 | 61,992 | 5 | 36.5 |
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