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Elections

Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria the Government use to assess whether overseas elections are free and fair. [126762]

Mr. Hain: When the Government deploy observers to elections overseas, they usually participate as members of international missions. On such missions, UK observers follow the procedures laid down for the larger group. For example the European Union and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe both have codes of conduct which apply to their election observation missions. In both cases, observers are expected to consider a wide range of factors when assessing the validity of an election, including: the degree of freedom of political parties and candidates to organise and express their views; fairness of access to state resources made available for the election; fairness of access to the media; registration of voters without discrimination on the basis of gender, racial or ethnic origin; and the conduct of polling and counting.

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Human Rights

Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the criteria he uses to measure human rights improvements in a country. [126658]

Mr. Hain: Our policy is to promote British interests and pursue British values by supporting democracy and human rights, wherever we can, however we can. That means responding to human rights challenges in the way most likely to help the people whose freedoms are being restricted. It would be irresponsible for any government to apply the same "one-size-fits-all" approach. We need to weigh factors such as relevant international standards, the policies of the government in the country concerned, and the extent to which our actions can have a real impact on the ground.

Sudan

Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of critical engagement with Sudan on human rights there; and if he will make a statement. [126657]

Mr. Hain: At this year's UN Commission on Human Rights, the EU sponsored a resolution on the Sudan which set out its concerns about violations of human rights. We have also taken up many of these concerns bilaterally and through the recently renewed EU/Sudan dialogue.

While we still have many concerns, we do believe that some progress has been made. Some examples would be the release of many prisoners, the agreement to review some legislation such as the Public Order Law, and the setting up of the Committee for the Eradication of the Abduction of Women and Children which is working in close co-operation with UNICEF and Save the Children Fund (UK). Such issues remain high on our agenda.

Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the international community is taking to ensure that Sudanese oil revenues are not being used to assist the war effort in Sudan. [126662]

Mr. Hain: We are well aware of concerns that revenues from the oil industry in the Sudan could be used to fund the ongoing war in the Sudan. We have raised these concerns with the Government of Sudan, pressing them to use the revenues for development projects and to show transparency in the oil account. Public assurances have been made to that effect and we shall look to the Government to honour these assurances as evidence becomes available. This is an issue that has also been taken up by other members of the international community.

Mr. Rowe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to persuade United Kingdom companies to withdraw from Sudan until there is peace there. [126661]

Mr. Hain: There is currently an EU arms embargo on the Sudan, which the UK helped initiate in 1994. We implement this rigorously and expect it to remain as long as the civil war continues.

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As regards other sectors, we give full and frank advice to British companies taking into account, for example, the security situation and reports of human rights abuses associated with the oil industry. But we do not have a policy to halt all British commercial interests.

Russia

Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans there are for the co-funding, via the G8, of the development of plutonium fuel in Russia. [126572]

Mr. Hain: G8 countries have affirmed their intention to establish arrangements for the safe management of weapons-grade plutonium no longer required for defence purposes. We have recognised that an international approach to financing will be required involving both public and private funds. This issue will continue to be discussed at the upcoming G8 Kyushu-Okinawa Summit.

Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what her policy is on the proposal that economic support be given by member states of the G8 for the Russian plutonium and nuclear industry. [126573]

Mr. Hain: The 1996 Moscow Nuclear Summit tasked the G8 Non-Proliferation Experts Group (NPEG) to take forward international cooperation on the safe and permanent disposal of ex-weapons plutonium, focusing on the huge Russian and American stockpiles. Technical experts agreed that the most promising options for disposal were conversion (of both plutonium and uranium) into mixed-oxide fuel (MOX) for use in civil nuclear reactors, and vitrification (in glass or ceramic form). The UK has actively contributed to work: as G8 President in 1998 we held a major conference of governmental and industrial experts which examined options for implementing the programme and ways of financing it. The US and Russia have recently concluded a Framework Agreement on how they will deal with disposition of weapons grade plutonium. We look forward to further discussion at the forthcoming G8 summit in Okinawa.

Saudi Arabia

Mr. Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Saudi Arabian Government on their legal system. [126637]

Mr. Hain: On 22 May, at the EU/GCC Joint Ministerial Meeting in Brussels, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary expressed concern about the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia, including aspects of the judicial process, to the Saudi Foreign Minister and representatives of the other GCC countries.

Visit Visas

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visit visa applications from people aged over 65 years were (a) made, (b) granted initially, (c) refused initially and (d) deferred at the British High Commission in (i) Islamabad, (ii) Karachi, (iii) New Delhi and (iv) Mumbai in (1) 1997, (2) 1998, (3) 1999 and (4) 2000 to the most recent date for which information is available. [127111]

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Mr. Vaz: The information requested is not collated either at Posts or held centrally. However, I have requested that the information be sought from Posts and will write as soon as it is available.

Parliamentary Questions

Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many written parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000; and how many have not received substantive answers on the grounds of disproportionate costs. [127103]

Mr. Robin Cook [holding answer 21 June 2000]: Of the 1,539 written parliamentary questions tabled to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 32 did not receive substantive answers citing disproportionate costs as the reason.

Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the written parliamentary questions tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000 have not received substantive answers, citing as the reason that the information is (a) not held centrally, (b) not held in the form requested, and (c) not available. [127334]

Mr. Robin Cook [holding answer 22 June 2000]: Nineteen.

Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the written parliamentary questions tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000 have not received substantive answers, citing as the reason commercial or other confidentiality. [127437]

Mr. Robin Cook [holding answer 23 June 2000]: Four.

Mr. Maclennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of the written parliamentary questions tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000 have not received substantive answers, excluding those not answered for reasons of (a) disproportionate costs, (b) information not available, not held centrally, or not held in the form requested or (c) commercial or other confidentiality. [127678]

Mr. Robin Cook: No outstanding questions tabled between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000 to which holding replies were given are still awaiting substantive answers.

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