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Madagascar
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens are resident in Madagascar; and what relationships are established between Madagascar and the United Kingdom in the (a) economic, (b) political and (c) cultural fields. [55204]
Mr. MacShane: Our embassy in Antananarivo estimates that there are some 160 British citizens in Madagascar.
Bilateral links between Madagascar and the UK are strong. We have been working hard to maintain these, despite the difficult political and economic situation that has developed since the disputed presidential election in December 2001. We continue to support the efforts of the Organisation of African Unity to broker an agreement between the parties which will break the political impasse.
The UK supports a number of small scale projects in Madagascar, particularly in the area of penal reform, and a number of British environmental NGOs are active there. Cultural links are growing: the BBC World Service rebroadcasts locally on FM, and there is increasing interest in learning English.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the political agreement reached on 22 April by the rival presidential contenders in Madagascar; and what steps he will take to seek the investigation of human
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rights violations and the establishment of a permanent mechanism for the protection of human rights for all sections of the population. [55203]
Mr. MacShane: We welcomed the signature of the Dakar Accord by Marc Ravalomanana and Didier Ratsiraka on 18 April. We regret that the parties have not, since then, been able to take the necessary steps to break the political deadlock. We continue to believe that the Dakar Accord provides the best basis for a settlement, and therefore support President Wade of Senegal's initiative for a second round of talks in Dakar on 14–15 May.
We, with our EU partners, the US, the OAU and UN will continue to encourage the two parties to work together to find a peaceful solution to the impasse, including the need to respect the human rights of all the Malagasy people.
Visitor Visas
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people were refused visitors' visas by British high commission offices in (a) India, (b) Pakistan and (c) Sri Lanka in the last 12 months. [55197]
Mr. Bradshaw: The total number of visitor visa applications (including family visit applications) refused between April 2001 to March 2002 is as follows:
Statistics for April 2002 are not yet available.
British Indian Ocean Territory
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department has to enable Ilois people to be able to visit the Chagos Islands; and if he will make a statement. [55604]
Mr. Bradshaw: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 10 April 2002, Official Report, column 56W.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received from environmental organisations concerning the protection of the British Indian Ocean Territories; and if he will make a statement. [55605]
Mr. Bradshaw: The BIOT Government receives representations from various environmental organisations such as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Conservation Forum and the Friends of Chagos on environmental matters in BIOT. The BIOT Government invests considerable time and effort on environmental and ecological issues.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what environmental impact assessments he holds concerning the effects of US military activity on Diego Garcia; and if he will make a statement. [55623]
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Mr. Bradshaw: The BIOT Government employ a Conservation Consultant who makes annual visits to the territory to assess the state of the environment and report to the Commissioner. The last such visit was in February/March 2002.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what income has been received from the USA for the use of Diego Garcia as a military base since its establishment; when the lease expires; and if he will make a statement. [55606]
Mr. Bradshaw: The United States pays no rent or makes any similar payment in respect of its right to use the British Indian Ocean Territory, including Diego Garcia, for defence purposes. However, in 1965, when it became clear that the costs of setting up the territory as a separate dependency would exceed original estimates, the US Government agreed to contribute £5 million towards these costs.
No part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, including Diego Garcia, has been leased to the United States. Under the 1966 Agreement between the UK and USA Governments, the islands will remain available to meet the defence needs of both Governments until 2016, and then for a further period of 20 years, unless either side has previously given notice of termination.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his officials have had on the licensing of fishing for commercial purposes within the British Indian Ocean Territories. [55607]
Mr. Bradshaw: The BIOT Government regularly holds talks with their fisheries consultants who are responsible for negotiating commercial fishing rights within BIOT waters. The fishing licences themselves are issued by the BIOT Government in London.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what preparations have been made by his Department for the receipt of passport applications by Ilois people living in (a) Mauritius, (b) Seychelles and (c) elsewhere. [55608]
Mr. Bradshaw: Chagossians living in Mauritius and Seychelles apply for British passports to the British high commissions in those countries. They should continue to do so when section 3 of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 comes into force on 21 May 2002. Arrangements have been made so that, in the event of a large number of applications being received, the British high commission in Pretoria, which has a large passport issuing section, will issue their passports. Chagossians living elsewhere should apply to their nearest British passport issuing office.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to authorise the processing of British passport applications from Ilois people within the terms of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002. [55624]
Mr. Bradshaw: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs signed a Commencement Order on 1 May which will bring the citizenship provisions of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 into force on 21 May 2002.
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Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to receive and publish a report on the possibility of resettlement of the Chagos Islands; and if he will make a statement. [55609]
Mr. Bradshaw: The results of Phase 2B of a study investigating the feasibility of resettlement on some of the outer islands of the Chagos Archipelago are expected to be available by mid 2002.
India
Mr. Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress he has made with the Government of India regarding bilateral training initiatives in counter terrorism. [54096]
Mr. Bradshaw: In January 2002 my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee agreed to enhance significantly our bilateral co-operation in counter-terrorism, including training. This commitment was soon followed by a visit to India by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's counter terrorism adviser to discuss areas where we could deepen existing bilateral counter-terrorism co-operation. We subsequently held a successful aviation security course in New Delhi for officials from India and the region. On 25 April, the UK/India Joint Working on Terrorism met in London to discuss international terrorism as well as opportunities for further co-operation on training.
British Prisoners Overseas
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) men and (b) women of British nationality are serving a prison sentence in an overseas country; and in which country the sentence is being served in each case. [54246]
Mr. Bradshaw: On 30 April 2002 we were aware of 2,030 British nationals serving custodial sentences in prisons overseas. Of these 1,753 are men and 277 are women. The table gives details of how many prisoners are in each country. The statistics represent only those prisoners who have asked the local authorities to inform the British consulate of their arrest and sentence.
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