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Libya (Flight LAA 1103)

Martin Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the outcome was of meetings held in the last six months between his staff at the Tripoli Embassy and the Libyan authorities on the subject of a crash report into flight LAA 1103. [57016]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given him by my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter (Mr. Bradshaw), then Parliamentary Under- Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, on 23 May 2002, Official Report, column 533W.

Pakistan

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations the Government have made to the Government of Pakistan on the protection of women's rights. [58342]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We and our EU partners regularly raise our human rights concerns, including women's rights issues, with the Pakistan authorities. The Government of Pakistan have made progress over the last year in addressing the position of women through electoral reform and their National Commission on the Status of Women. We support these steps and are supporting Pakistani women's groups in their campaigns to promote women's rights within the existing Islamic legal framework.

The EU Human Rights Group takes a close interest in human rights development in Pakistan. The Group is currently considering what further action they should take.

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Zimbabwe

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information was provided by the French authorities to his Department concerning the visit of Zimbabwean Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri to that country recently. [59199]

Mr. Straw: As they were obliged to, under the terms of the EU travel ban, the French authorities provided full relevant information prior to Chihuri's recent attendance at the 14–16 May Interpol meeting in Lyon.

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the meetings of international organisations which the Zimbabweans who are listed on the UK/EU travel ban list are allowed to attend. [58959]

Mr. Straw: There is no defined list. The terms of the Common Position imposing the travel ban allow Member States to grant exemptions on the grounds of

"humanitarian need, including religious obligation, or on the grounds attending meetings of international bodies or conducting political dialogue that promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Zimbabwe".

In practice, EU Member States examine visa applications from banned Zimbabweans on a case-by-case basis and consult other partners before reaching a final decision.

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date his Department was contacted by the French authorities concerning the visit of the Zimbabwean Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri; and what response his Department gave to the French. [59198]

Mr. Straw: We understand that Chihuri entered France on a single-entry 10-day visa on 11 May and returned to Zimbabwe on 20 May.

The French authorities alerted EU partners to Chihuri's application for a visa on 27 March. They explained that they were obliged under Article 15 of the Interpol Accord to allow Chihuri, a Vice-President representing Africa on Interpol's Executive Committee, to attend the organisation's 14–16 May meeting. The French authorities noted that the exemptions allowed under the EU travel ban include permission for banned individuals to attend international meetings of this kind.

My Department accepted the legal basis of the French request, but asked the French authorities to attach maximum restrictive conditions to Chihuri's entry visa and, where possible, to restrict his movements on EU soil to the immediate vicinity of the Interpol meeting.

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has received from European Government representatives since 11 March concerning Zimbabwean Ministers attending meetings in Europe, while they are on the EU sanctions list. [58960]

Mr. Straw: The terms of the EU travel ban allow banned individuals to attend meetings of international organisations based in Europe which are subject to established treaty arrangements. These may effectively require a host country to allow access irrespective of any ban.

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France informed EU partners on 27 March that Augustine Chihuri had applied to attend an Interpol meeting in Lyon from 14 to 16 May, and again on 23 May that he had applied to attend another meeting from 18 to 20 June. France noted its obligation under the Interpol Accord to allow national representatives to attend meetings at the headquarters of this international organisation. France issued him a restrictive, single entry 10-day visa for the May meetings, and a five-day visa for the June meeting. Spain has reported an application from Chihuri to enter Spain following the June meeting. This application has been refused.

France also reported a request from Zimbabwean officials on behalf of Robert Mugabe, Elliot Manyika, Elisha Muzonzini and Stanislaus Mudenge for permission to enter France while transitting Paris airport en route from New York on the weekend of 11 May. The request was turned down. Germany informed partners on 27 May that Stanislaus Mudenge had applied to enter Germany on private business. The application was turned down.

Italy alerted partners on 29 May and 5 June to requests from Robert Mugabe, Stanislaus Mudenge, Elliot Manyika, George Charamba and Joseph Made for permission to attend the UN Food Summit in Rome from 10 to 13 June. Italy noted its obligation to allow these individuals entry to attend this UN summit. They are likely to be given a five-day single entry visa.

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how long the Zimbabwean Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri was in the European Union. [59197]

Mr. Straw: We understand that Chihuri entered France on a single-entry 10-day visa on 11 May and returned to Zimbabwe on 20 May.

Falkland Islands

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has recently discussed with the Argentine Government a change in sovereign status of the Falkland Islands. [58954]

Mr. Straw: The British Government have no doubt about their sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and have held no recent meetings with Argentina about the future status of the Islands.

United Kingdom Overseas Territories

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the constitutional position of (a) the Falkland Islands and (b) Gibraltar. [58955]

Mr. Straw: The constitutional position of the Falkland Islands is expressed in the preamble to Chapter 1 of the 1985 Falkland Islands Constitution Order. In the case of Gibraltar this is expressed in the preamble to the 1969 Gibraltar Constitution Order. The constitutional positions of Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands are bound by the legal frameworks in which they are set, and in this respect they are quite distinct.

Jonathan Lincoln Brown

Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations

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his Department has made to the Government of Oman about a constituent, Jonathan Lincoln Brown; and if he will make a statement. [58932]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Mr. Brown is involved in a private legal dispute. We have assisted him where we properly can in a number of matters. These included representations to the Omani Government requesting them to consider Mr. Brown's case compassionately because of his mother's ill health and subsequent death. Our ambassador raised the case with the Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The embassy were also instrumental in ensuring Mr. Brown received an appeal date. We remain in contact with Mr. Brown and are providing all proper consular assistance.

Afghanistan

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what date his Department received reports and representations from the International Committee of the Red Cross regarding the conditions of fighters held in Shibergan prison in Afghanistan; and what action his Department has taken. [58844]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I understand that this Department did not receive any representations from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) regarding the conditions of fighters held in Shiberghan prison in Afghanistan.

Our Embassy staff in Kabul are in frequent contact with the ICRC, which monitors closely the situation and welfare of all prisoners in Afghanistan. The ICRC is concerned about conditions in the camp. A number of prisoners have been released since February, but the prison continues to hold some 1,600 men (it was designed to hold 1,000). The ICRC began a feeding programme for prisoners in mid-April.

Throughout the conflict last autumn, we urged the Northern Alliance to respect international human rights laws, including the Geneva Conventions, and to treat humanely all those who surrendered and were taken prisoner. Since then, we have made clear to the Afghan Interim Administration that we expect them to respect their international obligations, including to treat their prisoners humanely.

The former Foreign Office Minister with responsibility for South Asia, my hon. Friend the Member for Exeter, raised our concerns most recently on 27 May, when he discussed the reported mistreatment of prisoners with the Afghan Foreign Minister, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. The US$4.5 billion pledged by the international community for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Afghanistan over the next five years should help to improve conditions across the country, including in prisons. The Afghan Interim Administration has asked General Dostum, the regional commander with responsibility for the camp, to ensure that conditions at Shiberghan are improved swiftly.

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