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Bali Pre-conference

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people from his Department will travel to Bali to participate in the mini- summit for discussion of environmental issues. [57656]

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Mr. MacShane: There will be six officials travelling to Bali from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, who will be participating at the fourth preparatory committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

World Cup

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with (a) the Football Association and (b) the England Supporters Club on the advice to be given to England football supporters travelling to Japan and South Korea for the World Cup finals. [58089]

Mr. Bradshaw: We have been working closely with the Football Association and "Englandfans" (the official England supporters club) to provide useful, relevant and up-to-date information for travelling supporters to the World Cup in Japan and Korea. As well as the travellers tips available on our website, an FCO pocket information guide and FCO/DCMS/Home Office leaflet are being distributed with World Cup match tickets by the FA and FIFA, and will also be available at UK airports and upon arrival in Japan and Korea.

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Japanese Government on British prisoner transfer arrangements during the course of and following the World Cup finals. [58090]

Mr. Bradshaw: The UK does not have a bilateral prisoner transfer agreement with Japan. We have been encouraging Japan to accede to the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons (CECTSP), but Japan must first enact the necessary domestic legislation. During discussions in April 2002, Japanese officials said that they hoped to have the necessary legislation in place by summer 2002, which will then enable Japan to apply for accession to the CECTSP. As applications to the Council of Europe Secretariat take some time, Japan will not have acceded to the Convention in time for the World Cup 2002. British consular staff will, however, continue to do everything possible to help British nationals who are arrested or detained in Japan.

Single Currency

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on discussions which have taken place between officials in his Department and those from Sweden on the timing of referenda on EMU membership. [57881]

Peter Hain: Officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office conduct discussions on all aspects of EU policy, including economic issues, with all our European counterparts on a regular basis.

Information Campaigns

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his policy towards projecting plurality of opinion on the future direction of the EU in his Department's information campaigns; what input he receives from representatives of external organisations in developing his material; and if he will make it his policy to expand contact lists to represent organisations critical of the EU. [57877]

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Peter Hain: We are committed to consulting the public over the convention on the future of Europe, including by getting young people from all walks of life and political persuasion involved in the Youth convention. The Foreign Office, in conjunction with The Independent, is running a nationwide competition to select three young people to join the UK delegation.

In developing EU public diplomacy material, we have received input from the Plain Language Commission.

The FCO is open to the views of all organisations but is tasked with presenting the Government's policy on the EU.

Nagorno-Karabakh

Mr. Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on forced movement of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno- Karabakh by the Azerbaijan authorities. [58048]

Mr. Bradshaw: Approximately 60,000 Nagorno- Karabakh Armenians were displaced by the Azeris during the heaviest part of the fighting in 1991–92. 35,000 have since returned. The displaced Armenian population was largely from the Shahumian and Madakaert regions. During the same period, a large number (approximately 800,000) of Azeris were also displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh. We are not aware of any forced movement of population on either side of the line of control since the ceasefire in 1994.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Mr. Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the waiting time is for the spouse of a British national applying for a settlement visa in the UK from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. [57974]

Mr. Bradshaw: We have a Public Service Agreement with the Treasury that we conduct 90 per cent. of settlement interviews within a target time of 12 weeks. However, in practice applicants who apply to our visa section in Kinshasa on a Monday morning are usually interviewed on Tuesday and Wednesday; those who apply on a Wednesday morning, when the visa section opens again, are interviewed on Thursday, or the following Monday. The section would therefore expect to interview the spouse of a British national applying for settlement within three working days. Normally, a decision on the application would immediately follow this interview.

Hague Tribunal

Mr. Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Chief Prosecutor at the Hague Tribunal over funding of the Prosecutor's Office. [58052]

Mr. MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met with the Prosecutor, Mrs. Del Ponte, in London on 14 March 2002. They discussed the resource requirements of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia, including the Office of the Prosecutor. Mrs. Del Ponte received assurances of our continued support.

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Iraq

Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the (i) level of risk posed by and (ii) stage of development reached by Iraq in the development of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. [58210]

Mr. Bradshaw: We have not specifically commissioned any such research.

We do, however, have regular access, including from intelligence sources, to information regarding the development of such weapons by Iraq.

This information, coupled with the details of weapons and materials for which UN weapons inspectors were unable to account between 1991 and 1998 enables us to make periodic assessments of the risk posed by Iraq and of on-going development work.

Since the withdrawal of UNSCOM and IAEA inspection teams in December 1998, we have had no independently-verifiable information of the stage of development reached in the Iraqi WMD programme.

Libya

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Libyan authorities about the crash report on flight LAA1103. [57017]

Mr. Bradshaw: Our embassy in Tripoli have made regular requests to the Libyan authorities for a copy of the crash report. They will continue to do so. As a British citizen was killed in the crash, we believe that we have a right to this information. However, it is far from certain whether a crash report has or will be written, or, if one does exist, whether the Libyan authorities will hand a copy over to us.

Burma

Mr. Luke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with foreign Ministers in other countries about future strategies to be adopted in partnership aimed at encouraging peaceful democratic change in Burma. [58024]

Mr. Bradshaw: Burma is a frequent topic of multilateral and bilateral discussion at ministerial and official level within the EU as well as key members of the international community. I took the opportunity to discuss Burma with ministerial colleagues in Singapore and Brunei during my visit to south east Asia. I impressed on them the importance of maintaining pressure on the Burmese regime to take meaningful progress on democratic reform.

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he plans to impose sanctions against Burma as a result of military action on behalf of the Burmese Army against Karen, Kaenni and Shan people. [57662]

Mr. Bradshaw: In response to the overall political and human rights situation in Burma, the EU Common Position contains an arms embargo, a ban on high level visits, a ban on the export of items that may be used for

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torture, a ban on non-humanitarian assistance and an asset freeze and visa ban on senior members of the regime. The European Commission suspended Burma's trading privileges in 1997 in response to concerns over forced labour. In addition HMG discourages trade, investment and tourism with Burma.

The EU Common Position was extended for a further period of six months in April 2002. It will only be relaxed when there is substantive progress towards national reconciliation in Burma.

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the Government are taking to help bring democracy to Burma. [57659]

Mr. Bradshaw: The Government have played a leading role in the EU and the UN in pressing for substantive political change in Burma. In April, the EU Common Position was renewed unchanged for a further period of six months and an EU-sponsored resolution on the human rights situation in Burma was adopted by consensus at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.

The release from house arrest of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is a welcome step forward. But it is only one of many needed. We will continue to press for national reconciliation, respect for human rights and democracy in Burma.

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his latest estimate is of the number of Karen, Kaenni and Shan people (a) internally displaced and (b) killed as a result of military action against them by the Burmese Army in the last 12 months. [57663]

Mr. Bradshaw: Exact figures are not available as international access to many of the conflict areas is restricted or prevented by the military authorities. Recent UN estimates have indicated that up to 600,000 Burmese may be internally displaced.

It is even more difficult to gauge the number of people who have been killed as a result of fighting with the military authorities. That human rights abuses continue in Burma is not in doubt. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted a consensus resolution on Burma in April sponsored by the EU, which detailed the scale of the problem and expressed its continuing grave concern.

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the level of military action taken by the Burmese Army against the Karen, Kaenni and Shan people following the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. [57658]

Mr. Bradshaw: The ethnic minorities in Burma suffer disproportionately due to the misrule of the Burmese authorities. The violence inflicted on the Karen, the Karenni and the Shan is on-going. The intensity of the fighting fluctuates, in part due to the climate of Burma, particularly the monsoon. We have consistently pressed the regime to move ahead on national reconciliation and urged all sides to resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue.

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John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last made representations to (a) the Burmese Government and (b) other interested parties about the treatment of the Karen people by the Burmese army. [35792]

Mr. Bradshaw: We take every opportunity to impress upon the Burmese regime our deep concern about their treatment of the Karen and other ethnic minorities in Burma, including through our ambassador in Rangoon and visiting officials. The UK co-sponsored a United Nations Commission on Human Rights resolution on Burma in April 2002 and, as part of the EU, we shall co-sponsor a similar resolution at the United Nations General Assembly in November. We have also drawn our concerns to the attention of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma and the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Burma.

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