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EU Staff
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of existing staff it is envisaged will apply for special severance payment offers at the time of enlargement in the (a) Commission, (b) Council of Ministers, (c) European Parliament, (d) European Court of Justice and (e) Court of First Instance. [69820]
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Peter Hain: We have no information on what individual members of staff of the EU institutions might do in the wake of concluding enlargement negotiations.
International Terrorist Organisations
Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is his policy for the United Nations proscribed list of international terrorist organisations to be applied uniformly to all domestic terrorist organisations. [69761]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: No. The United Nations Sanctions committee has, with active UK participation, named and frozen the assets of a number of suspected terrorists and terrorist organisations, under the terms of Security Council resolutions 1267, 1333 and 1390. However, these resolutions provide authority to name and freeze only those which have suspected links to al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden or the Taliban. None of the domestic terrorists organisations proscribed under the Terrorism Act (2000) have such links.
Turkey
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Turkish Government on their policy on human rights in Turkey; and if he will make a statement. [70270]
Peter Hain: On 19–20 June, a senior official from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office led a UK delegation at the first formal UK/Turkey Human Rights Dialogue, in Ankara. There was a frank and constructive discussion of the human rights situation in Turkey, the measures recently taken to improve it and what remains to be done. As a candidate for EU membership, Turkey must comply with the Copenhagen political criteria. Guaranteeing the rights of all individuals is one of Turkey's priorities for reform; we and EU partners encourage them in their efforts. The European Commission will publish their regular progress report on Turkey in October.
Bush Meat
Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what briefings his Department's environmental attachés in countries in Central and West Africa have received on the bush meat trade. [70311]
Mr. MacShane: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has kept posts responsible for the six African states that are members of the CITES Bushmeat Working Group informed about its progress. Posts were asked to emphasise the group's importance to their host government. In February FCO sent a telegram to around 80 posts (including in West and Central Africa) highlighting the major issues, such as bush meat, of the forthcoming CITES Conference of the Parties. Many posts took this opportunity to discover the extent to which bush meat trade was a problem in their host country.
The FCO briefed posts in all 23 African and Asian great ape range states, and also in potential donor states, about the UK's financial support of £175,000 to UNEP's Great Ape Survival Project (GrASP). The FCO contributed £75,000 to the UK's donation and I plan to make an
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announcement of further funding soon. Posts were also informed about GrASP's aims and asked to provide logistical and political support to the GrASP technical team which is led by Ian Redmond and the UK NGO Born Free. Posts that have provided support so far include those in Kinshasa, Yaounde, Abidjan, Kuala Lumpa, Kigali, Kampala, Dakar, and Jakarta. UNEP Executive- Director Klaus Topfer has paid tribute to the support that UK Missions overseas have given, saying that
- "the personal commitment they have shown is very encouraging for our GrASP team."
Kurdish Prisoners (Iraq)
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what information his Department sought from the Government of Iraq and its representatives abroad concerning the (a) location of, (b) condition of and (c) justification for the retention of Kurdish prisoners in Iraq since April 1980; and if he will make a statement; [70432]
- (2) what steps his Department has taken since 3 April 1991 to gain information on Kurdish prisoners in Iraq; and if he will make a statement; [70434]
(3) what his Department's strategy is to secure the release of Kurdish prisoners in Iraq; and if he will make a statement; [70430]
(4) what diplomatic steps his Department has taken since 1 May 1997 to ensure the release of Kurdish prisoners in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [70433]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UK does not have any diplomatic relations with the Government of Iraq. However, we are deeply concerned about reports, such as those documented by Andreas Mavrommatis, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iraq, of the maltreatment of prisoners by the Iraqi regime. We remain committed to doing what we can to bring about improvements in the human rights situation in Iraq, including the treatment of political opponents to the regime, and take every opportunity to raise this issue in international fora.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what communications his Department had with the Government of Iraq and its representatives abroad between April 1980 and 2 August 1990 concerning Kurdish prisoners in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [70431]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: This question could be answered comprehensively only by researching FCO files for the 10-year period in question. This could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Wilton Park Executive Agency
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the Wilton Park Executive Agency performed against the targets agreed for 2001–02; and what the agreed targets are for the current year. [71351]
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Mr. MacShane: Wilton Park met all four of the agreed targets set for the 2001–02 financial year, for income, cost recovery, the number of conference participants, and cost per head to the FCO overall. Wilton Park's performance in 2001–02 and some of the targets for the current year are shown in the table:
| 2001–02 targets | 2001–02 performance | 2002–03 targets | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Income (£) | 2,963,000 | 3,210,000 | 3,278,000 |
| Cost recovery (percentage) | 85.9 | 87.2 | 86.1 |
| Number of conference participants | 2,400 | 3,033 | — |
| Cost to FCO per participant (£) | 203 | 156 | — |
Wilton Park's targets have been adjusted from 2002–03 to give greater emphasis to service delivery. Measures for number of conference participants and cost to the FCO per participant have been dropped. Wilton Park's annual targets now work from framework targets for cost recovery (which is to recover all its cash costs ie excluding non-cash costs), quality of conference programmes and standards of service. New measures have been added for 'excellent' ratings awarded respectively for conference programmes and for conference administration. The 2002–03 targets for the two new measures are:
- 'Excellent' ratings awarded for conference programmes: 56 per cent. (an increase of 2 per cent. on the informal target for 2001–02)
'Excellent' ratings awarded for conference administration: 89 per cent. (an increase of 1.1 per cent. on the informal target for 2001–02).
Morwenstow Facility
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the purpose of the facility at Morwenstow. [69415]
Mr. Straw: As I told the hon. Member on 22 January 2002, Official Report, column 775W, GCHQ Bude, previously known as the Composite Signals Organisation Station at Morwenstow, provides intelligence support serving the interest of the UK and its allies. It is long standing policy not to provide details about the operations carried out at Bude.
New Zealand
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has received from New Zealand regarding the transport of nuclear fuel near its territory. [69654]
Mr. MacShane: The New Zealand Government made a representation on 12 July through its High Commission in London on the return of MOX fuel from Japan to the UK.
Nuclear Waste Negotiations
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations his Department has received concerning negotiations between Russia and Iran on spent nuclear fuel; and if he will make a statement. [69674]
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Mr. Mike O'Brien: Russian co-operation with Iran's nuclear industry, including issues concerning spent fuel, are regularly discussed with appropriate governments.
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