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Terminal Illness
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to provide employment protection to employees taking compassionate leave to care for terminally ill relatives and friends. [102538]
Mr. Alan Johnson: From 15 December 1999, all employees will be entitled to take a reasonable amount of time off work to deal with an emergency involving a dependant, and will be protected from dismissal or detriment for doing so. For the first time, employees will be able to take a short amount of leave when a dependant falls ill, which will help them make longer term care arrangements.
As part of our wider strategy of promoting family friendly employment policies, we will be encouraging employers to go beyond the legal minimum, for example, by providing longer periods of leave to employees on compassionate grounds.
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International Court of Justice
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under what international agreement the International Court of Justice at the Hague would act in respect of action taken by armed military force of the European Union. [101896]
Mr. Vaz: As is the case with the Western European Union, the European Union would, if new crisis management arrangements are agreed, only use force if it would be lawful under international law.
The International Court of Justice can exercise jurisdiction only if the States concerned have both accepted the jurisdiction of the Court. This can be done by an ad hoc agreement; by being parties to a treaty which confers the necessary jurisdiction on the Court; or by matching acceptances of jurisdiction under Article 36 of the Statute of the Court.
The EU, like the WEU, is not itself subject to the jurisdiction of the Court. Only States are subject to it.
Mr. Blizzard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 6 December 1999, Official Report, columns 405-06W, what assessment he has made of the factors underlying the inability of the British High Commission in Nigeria to obtain the complete police report on the death of Mr. Mark Davey. [102135]
Mr. Hain:
The British High Commission in Abuja has done everything it properly can to obtain this report from the Nigerian authorities. Sadly, difficulties in obtaining such formal reports from the appropriate authorities are not unusual. Changes in the political system over the last year, and subsequent changes in personnel in the Government, civil service and police have been contributing factors.
Mr. Gerald Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps K-For is taking to secure the return of Kosovar coal and mineral mines to their former owners; and what reports he has received on the extent of shareholdings in the Trepca Company by President Milosovic and his family. [101962]
Mr. Vaz:
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) has responsibility for the Trepca industrial complex. UNMIK has said it will run state property for the benefit of all communities in Kosovo, with issues of ownership, which are inevitably complex in Kosovo's present circumstances, to be resolved later. The priority is to promote a functioning economy in Kosovo as quickly as possible.
The exact balance of involvement by the FRY/Serbian regime and its supporters in the ownership of the Trepca industrial complex is difficult to assess. The Government in Belgrade exercises extensive control over the public and private sectors of the economy, both directly and through banks and businesses manipulated by the regime.
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Mr. Gardiner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date was the Government's last reassessment of the situation in Sri Lanka with respect to the appropriateness of granting export licences for controlled exports to that country. [102185]
Mr. Hain:
Our policy on defence exports to Sri Lanka, as with all other countries, is constantly kept under review. Each export licence application is considered scrupulously on a case by case basis in accordance with national and EU criteria. Particular attention is paid to the Sri Lankan Government's human rights record and its legitimate defence and domestic security interests.
Mr. Gardiner:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the Government of Sri Lanka concerning human rights violations by the Sri Lankan army and security forces. [102183]
Mr. Hain:
We maintain a dialogue with the Sri Lankan Government and the armed forces on a wide range of issues including human rights and the importance of bringing to justice those responsible for abuses.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy on the composition of the UN Security Council; and if he will make a statement. [102312]
Mr. Hain:
We believe early enlargement of the Security Council is essential to make the Council more representative of the world today. Making the Council more representative will enhance its authority and credibility.
We support expansion of the Security Council from 15 members to 24. We propose five additional permanent seats: two for Germany and Japan plus three for developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America respectively. We also support four new non-permanent seats: one each for Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.
Mr. Chope:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy that British mineral water be served at British embassies in Europe. [102770]
Mr. Hain:
No. The Government's Public Purchasing Consolidated Guidelines require goods and services to be acquired by competition unless there are convincing reasons to the contrary. The selection of a particular product or supplier solely on the grounds of national preference would run counter to this policy.
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason he seeks to terminate the employment of Mr. Hans van Sponeck as a UN co-ordinator in Baghdad. [102449]
13 Dec 1999 : Column: 21W
Mr. Hain:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 26 November 1999, Official Report, column 257W.
Mr. Don Foster:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies have spent on external consultants and advisers since May 1997. [102074]
Mr. Hain:
The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Gill:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 6 December 1999, Official Report, column 406W, on the use of torture in OSCE participating countries, if he will list the parts of the OSCE region in which instances of abuse persist. [102321]
Mr. Vaz:
As noted in my previous answer to the hon. Gentleman, instances of torture can occur even in countries with strong human rights protections. While in some countries there are effective mechanisms for the reporting and investigation of such abuse, in others there are not. It is not, therefore, possible to give an accurate and comprehensive list of countries where instances of torture persist.
At the OSCE Review Conference in Istanbul reports of torture in various countries in the OSCE region, especially the Central Asian republics, were raised. Several states, including Turkey, Russia and the United States of America, also acknowledged that their own systems were not perfect and outlined measures they were taking to strengthen protection of the human rights of detainees.
Ms Kingham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) representations he has received from and (b) meetings he and his officials have held with, which organisations concerning the indictment of Jonas Savimbi for war crimes and crimes against humanity. [102490]
Mr. Hain:
The Angolan Government has made public its view that Savimbi should be indicted for war crimes on a number of occasions in the United Nations Security Council, at meetings of the Southern Africa Development Community and in Luanda. We have received similar representations both in London and overseas on behalf of the Angola Emergency Campaign some of whose representatives I met on 8 November.
Mr. McNamara:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will announce the name of the United Kingdom representative to the Venice Commission. [101980]
Mr. Vaz:
We are in the process of appointing a UK member, and expect to make an announcement in the new year. For the sake of transparency we have consulted
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non-governmental organisations and academic bodies for nominations. We have also appointed an external member to the selection panel.
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