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Angola
Ms Kingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to ensure that UN sanctions against UNITA in Angola are implemented effectively. [102492]
Mr. Hain: We fully support UN sanctions against UNITA, the work of the UN Sanctions Committee on Angola, chaired by Ambassador Fowler, and the Expert Panels, established to look at ways to tighten implementation of sanctions. We are contributing US$200,000 to the Panels' work.
We have also called for stricter enforcement of sanctions by all UN member states. We are investigating UNITA's re-supply routes and will pass on what we learn to Ambassador Fowler.
The UK fully implements UN sanctions decided upon by the Security Council of the United Nations in its resolutions 864 (1993), 1127 (1997) and 1173 (1998) by means of restrictions imposed in Orders in Council under the United Nations Act 1946, by an amendment to the Open General Import Licence in respect of diamonds and by other administrative means. We have recently frozen funds in the UK, in accordance with UNSCR 1173.
Information concerning potential breaches of sanctions by UK nationals or companies is passed immediately to the appropriate UK enforcement authorities.
Mr. Viggers:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the hon. Member for Gosport will receive a full reply to his representations on behalf of Mr. O about UK entry clearance (Migration and Visa Correspondence Unit reference GV 100/54641). [102583]
Mr. Vaz:
I shall be replying to the hon. Member's letter about Mr. Onyike in the next few days.
Mr. Ben Chapman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has, under the Joint Declaration, to monitor political structures and political activity in Hong Kong. [102910]
Mr. Battle:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Bethnal Green and Bow (Ms King) on 14 December 1999, Official Report, column 110W.
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations the Government have made to the Government of Pakistan concerning the well-being of former ministers currently held in custody, pending trial. [102864]
Mr. Hain:
From the outset we have urged Pakistan's military authorities to respect the safety and legal rights of those detained. We have also urged that former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his co-defendants be given a free, fair and transparent trial before a civilian court. Our High Commissioner in Islamabad reiterated those points
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when he saw General Musharraf on 15 November. I also underlined our concern to Sharifuddin Pirzada, a member of Pakistan's National Security Council, on 8 December.
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the legal position in each overseas territory in relation to (a) capital punishment and (b) homosexual acts. [102842]
Mr. Battle:
(a) Capital punishment for murder has been abolished in all Overseas Territories (OT) save Bermuda, which announced in July of this year its intention to do so. Capital punishment for piracy and treason remains on the statute books of all OTs except BIOT, BAT and the Falkland Islands.
(b) There is currently legislation in Anguilla, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands which effectively makes homosexual acts between consenting adults in private a criminal offence. This is not the case in other OTs.
Mr. Jim Cunningham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the current situation in Kashmir. [103190]
Mr. Hain:
Although the level of violence in Kashmir has reduced since the events of the summer, we remain concerned at reports of continuing incidents on and around the Line of Control. We continue to urge India and Pakistan to resume their bilateral dialogue on all outstanding issues, including Kashmir.
Mr. Dismore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Foreign Minister of Iran during his forthcoming visit to the UK on behalf of the 13 Jews detained without trial; and if he will make a statement. [103029]
Mr. Hain:
Yes, as we have done at every opportunity. We remain very concerned about this, as the Iranian Government are only too well aware.
Dr. Tonge:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on current diplomatic relations with Iran. [103208]
Mr. Hain:
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary again met his Iranian counterpart Dr. Kharrazi at UNGA on 21 September. During this meeting they agreed to exchange visits. We hope that Dr. Kharrazi will visit early in the New Year and that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary will visit Iran in the Spring.
We continue to look to co-operate with Iran in a number of practical fields and so develop the relationship to the benefit of both countries. My hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) announced to the House on 29 November 1999, Official Report, column 32W, an assistance package to help Iran in their battle to stem the flow of drugs through Iran from Afghanistan. The Permanent Under-Secretary for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office also announced
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during his visit to Tehran on 28 November that the Department for International Development have approved an assistance package for the large number of refugees in Iran, where for too long Iran has borne a heavy burden without international help.
Our policy, in line with that of our EU partners, remains to encourage the reforms already underway in Iran while pressing for improvements in those Iranian policies that are of concern.
Mr. Russell Brown:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the forthcoming business in the Council of the European Union for December; and if he will list the major European Union events for the next six months. [103718]
Mr. Vaz:
The information is as follows:
Monthly forecast of EU business: January 2000
No agendas for any of the January Councils are available yet.
European calendar: January-June 2000
This calendar is primarily concerned with European Union matters, but certain other relevant events are also included. Events and dates quoted are based on the information available on the date of issue.
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