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Stolen/lost Property
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those items valued at more than £50 which have been stolen or lost from his Department in each of the last four years. [27988]
Mr. MacShane: The following equipment, valued at over £50.00, has been reported stolen or lost from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK in the last four years:
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Afghanistan
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has sought, and what communications he has received, from the United States Administration in respect of the circumstances surrounding the uprising and battle at the prison fort outside Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan; how many prisoners were killed; if United Kingdom citizens are known to have been killed or captured; and what role British military personnel played in the action. [28504]
Mr. Bradshaw: We do not have details of the numbers killed or captured, and are not aware that any UK citizens were among those killed or captured.
My hon. Friend will understand that, for reasons of operational security, I cannot go into specific details about the involvement of British troops in this incident. However, I can tell my hon. Friend that, following an uprising by Taliban fighters being held at the fort, who overpowered their captors and seized the armoury, British troops went to the aid of their US colleagues. Under heavy fire they attempted to recover two US personnel apparently captured by the Taliban fighters.
Ministerial Visits
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the dates of foreign visits he has made since 11 September; which countries he visited; whom he met; what was discussed; what the size of his entourage was; which other Ministers accompanied him; and what the total cost was of each visit. [28789]
Mr. Straw: Since 11 September I have made the following overseas visits and met the following leaders:
- 12 September
- Special GAC Brussels.
- Belgium—Secretary General Solana, President Prodi, Vice-President Kinnock, Commissioner Lamy, Commissioner Patten.
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- 21 September
- Extraordinary European Council, Brussels.
- 24–27 September
- Jordan—King Abdullah, Prime Minister al-Ragheb, Foreign Minister Khatib, President Arafat.
- Iran—President Khatemi, Foreign Minister Dr. Kharrazi.
- Israel—Prime Minister Sharon, Foreign Minister Peres.
- Egypt—President Mubarak.
- 8 October
- GAC Luxembourg.
- 17 October
- GAC Luxembourg.
- 17–18 October
- Turkey—President Sezer, Prime Minister Ecevit, Foreign Minister Cem.
- 23–25 October
- USA—Vice-President Cheney, Secretary of State General Powell, Secretary of State for Defence Rumsfeld and Deputy Secretary of Defence Wolfowitz.
- 29 October
- GAC Luxembourg.
- 30–31 October
- Russia—Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov.
- Poland—Prime Minister Miller, Foreign Minister Cimoszewicz.
- 9–14 November
- USA—UNGA.
- 19 November
- GAC Brussels.
- 19–20 November
- Spain—Foreign Minister Pique.
- 21–23 November
- Iran—Foreign Minister Dr. Kharrazi, Abdullah Abdullah (now Foreign Minister of the Interim Administration in Afghanistan).
- Pakistan—President Musharraf, Foreign Minister Sattar.
- Bahrain—Foreign Minister Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al-Khalfia.
- 6–7 December
- Belgium—NAC Meeting.
- 10 December
- GAC Brussels.
- 13–15 December
- Belgium—Laeken European Council.
- 21–23 January
- Democratic Republic of Congo—President Kabila, Foreign Minister Ukitundu.
- Rwanda—President Kagame, Foreign Minister Bumaya.
- Burundi—President Buyoya, Vice-President Ndayizeye.
- Uganda—President Museveni, Foreign Minister Wapakhabulo.
A range of issues was discussed during these visits, including the international coalition against terrorism, the middle east peace process, EU affairs, bilateral relations and regional issues.
The Prime Minister attended the Extraordinary European Council in Brussels on 21 September and the Laeken European Council in Brussels, 13–15 December. The Chancellor of the Exchequer attended the Laeken
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European Council. The Minister for Europe attended the GACs on 29 October, 10 November and 19 November and the Laeken European Council.
A detailed list of Cabinet Ministers' visits overseas and information on expenditure by all Ministers on overseas travel for the period 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002 will be published as soon as possible after the end of this financial year.
Colombia
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he has taken to ensure that the Colombian Government conducts a full investigation into human rights violations in Colombian cities; and if he will make a statement. [29227]
Mr. MacShane: We are very concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in Colombia. I had comprehensive discussions with the Colombian Government about human rights, including allegations of human rights violations in the town of Barrancabermeja, during my visit to Colombia last October. Last year, HM ambassador to Colombia and other embassy staff visited Medellin, Cali and other major cities and towns where they met and expressed support for peace activists and human rights NGOs, and raised our concerns with the Colombian authorities. We strongly support the work of the Colombian human rights ombudsman, who I met last October, who regularly publishes reports into human rights violations.
Visas
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many applications for a visa to visit family members in the United Kingdom were refused in (a) November and (b) December 2001. [28787]
Mr. Bradshaw: Provisional figures, based on monthly statistical returns from the largest 110 entry clearance posts handling 98 per cent. of all visa applications are:
- Refused November 2001: 3,846 1
Refused December 2001: 2,164 2
1 Figures from six posts still awaited.
- 2 Figures from 29 posts still awaited.
Terrorist Attacks (Middle East)
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of the number of terrorist attacks carried out by members of the Fatah from within the Palestinian Authority in the last 12 months; [28831]
- (2) what assessment he has made of the organisations responsible for the terrorist attack on the Israeli town of Afula on 27 November 2001. [28832]
Mr. Bradshaw: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastwood (Mr. Murphy) on 9 January 2002, Official Report, column 919W.
World Conference Against Racism
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has
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been made in negotiating and translating the final text for the Declaration and Programme of Action agreed at the UN World Conference Against Racism held in Durban from 31 August to 8 December 2001; what preparations he has made to publish and distribute English and other language versions of the final text in the UK; what preparations he has made to consult NGOs and minority ethnic organisations on the construction of a national plan of action based on these texts as required by the Durban agreement; and what his time scale is for consultation with (a) devolved Administrations and (b) dependent territories. [29246]
Peter Hain: The agreed Declaration and Programme of Action of the World Conference Against Racism (WCAR) were published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on 2 January. English, French and Spanish versions are currently available on the website of the OHCHR www.ohchr.ch. The UN General Assembly Third Committee will reconvene in February to adopt the documents formally. Home Office officials will hold a preliminary consultation with NGOs and others involved in the preparations for WCAR on 4 February to discuss, inter alia, publication and further translation of the documents in the UK and the construction of a national plan of action. The devolved Administrations, who were also consulted before Durban, have been invited to the 4 February meeting. The Home Office will send copies of the documents to the dependent territories for consultation once they have been formally adopted by the UN.
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