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Yugoslav Federation
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had at the recent EU General Affairs and Defence meeting in Brussels on 13 and 14 May concerning progress on implementing the accord reached by Serbia and Montenegro to dissolve the Yugoslav Federation and form a new union. [59089]
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Mr. Straw: At the 13 May General Affairs Council, EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana briefed EU Foreign Ministers on the current situation concerning the implementation of Serbia and Montenergro agreement. EU Ministers
- "underlined the priority . . . to quickly implement the 14 March agreement".
Mr. Straw: The UK supports the 14 March Agreement on Principles of Restructuring Relations between Serbia and Montenegro. We believe the Agreement will promote stability in the region, and Serbia and Montenegro's integration into European structures.
The Serbian Parliament and the Montenegrin Assembly ratified the Agreement on 9 April 2002, and the Yugoslav Parliament adopted the Agreement on 31 May 2002. We now look forward to the formation of a commission to draft a constitutional charter. We are fully supporting the efforts of the EU's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Mr. Solana, to encourage the parties to make rapid progress.
Departmental Sponsors
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the duties are of hon. Members appointed as sponsors to his Department; and what assistance is given by officials in his Department to them in carrying out these duties. [59983]
Mr. Straw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) on 22 May 2002, Official Report, column 362W.
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which hon. Members have been appointed as sponsors to his Department since 7 June 2001; and when each of them were appointed. [59970]
Mr. Straw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith), on 22 May 2002, Official Report, column 362W.
East Timor
Mr. MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last raised the imprisonment of Ngawang Sangdrol with his Chinese counterpart. [60071]
Mr. MacShane: The imprisonment of Ngawang Sangdrol is one of the individual cases that we regularly raise with the Chinese in the context of the biannual UK/China Human Rights dialogue. We most recently raised her case during the dialogue which took place in Beijing on 15 May. In their response, the Chinese said that her sentence had been reduced by 18 months. Her new release date is 3 November 2011.
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G8 Summit
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what preparations the Government have made in advance of the G8 Summit in June, with regard to (a) Zimbabwe and (b) Nepal. [60196]
Peter Hain: The Canadian chair of this year's G8 Summit wish to focus the agenda on the world economy, terrorism, and the G8's response to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). There are no plans to discuss Zimbabwe as such, though it may be mentioned in the context of NEPAD. There are at present no plans to discuss Nepal.
Liberia
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he will take in relation to reports of Liberia's violations of the UN arms embargo on it. [60160]
Mr. MacShane: The involvement of President Taylor of Liberia in weapons trafficking and his support for armed groups continue to threaten regional peace and stability. We therefore fully support the decision of the United Nations Security Council of 6 May to extend sanctions against Liberia for a further 12 months through the adoption of resolution 1408(2002). The resolution was co-sponsored by the UK.
Zimbabwe
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further proposals he has to apply pressure to the Zimbabwean Government to respect human rights and property rights. [60175]
Mr. MacShane: We are deeply concerned about violations of human rights and the continuing disregard for the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
We will continue to discuss with EU, African and other international partners ways to promote respect for human rights and the rule of law in Zimbabwe.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimates he has made of the number of persons (a) killed and (b) injured as a result of politically motivated violence in Zimbabwe in each month since January 2001. [60176]
Mr. MacShane: The Human Rights Forum, a Zimbabwean non-governmental organisation, has estimated the number of people killed or tortured as a result of politically motivated violence in Zimbabwe during the months in question is as follows:
- January 2001: 2 killed, 22 tortured;
February 2001: 0 killed, 9 tortured;
March 2001: 0 killed, 9 tortured;
April 2001: 0 killed, 26 tortured;
May 2001: 0 killed, 47 tortured;
June 2001: 0 killed, 29 tortured;
July 2001: 11 killed, 288 tortured;
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August 2001: 1 killed, 170 tortured;
September 2001: 6 killed, 112 tortured;
October 2001: 3 killed, 99 tortured;
November 2001: 6 killed, 91 tortured;
December 2001: 7 killed, 119 tortured;
January 2002: 12 killed, 112 tortured;
February 2002: 39 killed, 525 tortured;
March 2002: 50 killed, 374 tortured;
April 2002: 7 killed, 146 tortured;
1–14 May 2002: 2 killed, 8 tortured.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimates he has made of the number of members in farm workers' families who have been evicted from their homes in Zimbabwe in each month since January 2001. [60173]
Mr. MacShane: There are no firm estimates available for the number of farm workers and their families who have been displaced in Zimbabwe since 2001. But from media, NGO and other reporting the number can be measured in tens of thousands.
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the farms from which he is aware of farm workers' families being evicted in Zimbabwe since January 2001. [60174]
Mr. MacShane: Farm workers have been displaced from a large number of commercial farms since 2001. But we do not have a specific list. The hon. Member may wish to contact Zimbabwe's Commercial Farmers' Union or the Farm Community Trust of Zimbabwe, who may be able to provide him with details.
Age Discrimination
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list for each NDPB and agency sponsored by his Department (a) the maximum retirement age adopted for most employees and (b) their practice on not considering applications for employment by persons over a particular age. [59453]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: It is for individual NDPBs to determine their own policies on the age-limits of those applying for employment, in accordance with existing equal opportunities legislation and good practice guidelines.
Agencies are bound by the provisions of the Civil Service Management Code. Section 2.1 states:
- "Civil Service equal opportunities policy provides that all eligible people must have equality of opportunity for employment and advancement on the basis of their suitability for the work. There must be no unfair discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, or (in Northern Ireland) community background."
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Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office recruits people to both the Diplomatic service and the Home civil service.
Diplomatic servants must be between the ages of 21 and 52. This is to ensure that those joining the service can complete at least one home tour (usually 18 months) and one post abroad (usually three years), before they reach the normal retirement age of 60.
Home civil servants must be between the ages 16 and 58. This again is to ensure that those joining can complete at least one tour (usually two years) before reaching the retirement age.
FCO services based at Hanslope Park, Milton Keynes carry out their own recruitment. They recruit only staff for the Home civil service. Band A support staff must be aged between 16 and 63 and those within the Bands B and D must be aged between 16 and 61.
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