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Wine Expenditure

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 12 May 2000, Official Report, column 496W, concerning his Department's spending on champagne and other wine, in which category such expenditure is recorded; what items in addition to (a) champagne and (b) other wine are recorded in this category; and how much his Department has spent on items in this category in each year since 1 May 1997. [124246]

Mr. Hain [holding answer 5 June 2000]: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office records this expenditure as official entertainment. The costs also include such items as catering requirements (including food/drink), related hire charges, and other administration costs (such as invitation cards). The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not maintain a comprehensive central record of these categories of expenditure.

International Traffic and Arms Regulations

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the benefits to the UK of being granted special status under the US International Traffic and Arms Regulations; and if he will make a statement. [125381]

Mr. Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary for Defence on 15 June 2000, Official Report, columns 667-68W.

Saudi Arabia

Mr. Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking on human rights in Saudi Arabia following the Amnesty International report "Saudi Arabia: A Justice System Without Justice"; and if he will make a statement. [126080]

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Mr. Hain: Saudi Arabia is an Islamic country in which justice is based on Sharia Law. The British Government respect Islam but have concerns about human rights in the Kingdom, including the discrimination against women and non-Muslims, the restrictions on freedom of expression, movement, assembly and worship, the implementation of UN human rights instruments, and issues relating to the judicial process.

The British Government are firmly committed to constructive engagement on human rights with Saudi Arabia and discuss the issue regularly with the Saudis. The Government take, and will continue to take, every realistic and responsible step to try to improve matters.

Nazi Slave Labour Victims

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement as to the circumstances in which the proposed compensation package for slave labour victims of the Nazis to be met by the German Government have been proposed to be reduced in respect of claimants in the "rest-of-the-world" group, including United Kingdom residents. [126032]

Mr. Vaz: I understand that the sum of money earmarked at one stage of the negotiations for allocation to "rest-of-the-world" claimants was reduced subsequently in discussions between the German and US Governments.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received (a) from and (b) on behalf of slave labour victims of the Nazis, in respect of the German compensation fund. [126030]

Mr. Vaz: I have received a number of letters from colleagues in the House, on behalf of their constituents.

My officials have spoken regularly with representatives of former Poles and Ukrainians who were former slave/forced labourers.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what was the original estimate of compensation levels for Nazi slave labour victims under the German compensation scheme (a) in total and (b) in respect of each category of case; and what is the current estimate under the revised proposals put forward by the German Government as to (a) and (b). [126033]

Mr. Vaz: Agreement on a fund totalling DM10 billion was announced in December 1999.

The amount of compensation intended for allocation to former slave labourers has been set at a maximum of DM15,000 per claimant. Former forced labourers may receive a maximum of DM5,000.

Current uncertainty about the availability of funds and the process of disbursement mean it is not possible at this stage to predict the sum which will be available in practice to individual claimants.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the German Government concerning the regulations over the compensation scheme for slave labour victims of the Nazi regime. [126029]

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Mr. Vaz: Our Ambassador in Berlin has written recently to the German Government to express concern that UK claimants have free, fair and equal access to the compensation fund. We remain in close touch with the German Government on this.

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made as to the number of rest-of-the-world claimants resident in the United Kingdom, who are likely to qualify for compensation from the German fund for slave labour victims of the Nazis. [126031]

Mr. Vaz: We have no exact numbers for the UK, but understand that there may be 2,000 or more potential claimants.

Kosovo

Mrs. Mahon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Kosovan Albanians have been referred to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for atrocities committed against Serbs and other non-Albanian people in Kosovo. [126219]

Mr. Hain: The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) is investigating all atrocities committed in Kosovo regardless of the perpetrator's ethnic origin. ICTY has issued indictments against five Serbs for alleged crimes against humanity in Kosovo. No Kosovan Albanians have yet been indicted.

Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the percentage of UNMIK'S authorised civil administration staff deployed in Kosovo. [126647]

Mr. Hain [holding answer 19 June 2000]: According to the United Nations Secretariat there are 1,148 approved posts for international staff working for UNMIK, 75 per cent. of which are currently filled. There are a number of staff who have been appointed but have not yet arrived in Kosovo. When they do, 90 per cent. of the approved posts for international staff will be filled.

United Nations

Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his (a) EU and (b) UN counterparts concerning Ambassador Richard Holbrooke's proposal that the United Nations should transform its civilian-run peacekeeping Department into a larger and more effective military-style operation. [126607]

Mr. Hain [holding answer 19 June 2000]: We strongly support efforts to enhance the operational capacity and effectiveness of the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO). We are working closely with the UN Secretariat, the United States, and other EU and UN members.

Military officers are already closely involved in the preparation and execution of United Nations peacekeeping missions. But DPKO needs increased intelligence and planning capacity and an enhanced capacity to manage police and other civilian deployments. And, since modern peacekeeping is now rarely wholly military in nature, we want to see better integration of military and civilian resources. I have also explained the concept of a UN rapid reaction capability.

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Official Visits (Overseas)

Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list his officials who have visited (a) Nigeria, (b) Liberia, (c) Sierra Leone and (d) Togo since January 1999. [126610]

Mr. Hain [holding answer 19 June 2000]: There have been regular visits by a range of officials to these four countries since January 1999.

The provision of a detailed breakdown would incur disproportionate cost.

UN Register of Conventional Arms

Ms Rosie Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the UK will submit its return covering imports and exports of major types of conventional weapons during 1999 to the UN Register of Conventional Arms; and if he will place copies of the return in the Library. [127224]

Mr. Hain: The Government submitted the UK's return to the UN Register covering conventional arms transfers in calendar year 1999 on 20 June. Copies have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Echelon Surveillance System

Mr. Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to establish that the Echelon Surveillance System is not used to the economic disbenefit of (a) the UK and (b) other EU states; and if he will make a statement. [126298]

Mr. Robin Cook: The hon. Member will be well aware of the Government's policy not to comment on alleged surveillance systems.

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