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Jordan

Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received about the cases of Rawan and Fadi Husam Rasmi Jibreen and Siham Quandah; what representations he has made to the authorities in Jordan; and if he will make a statement. [95004]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have received representations from UK Non-Governmental Organisations and Members of both Houses of Parliament. Staff in the British Embassy in Amman have raised this case with the relevant Jordanian authorities and continue to follow this case closely.

Middle East

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to reinvigorate the Middle East Peace Process. [95126]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: In January my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary chaired the 'London meeting' on Palestinian reform a key element of any final settlement.

Britain remains committed to the Quartet-led efforts to reach a two-state solution, and to using its influence nationally and through the EU to support a negotiated agreement to bring to an end the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

Mr. Abdullah Ocalan

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Turkish Government on (a) the state of health of Mr. Abdullah Ocalan and (b) the prison conditions under which Mr. Ocalan is being held; and if he will make a statement. [95971]

Mr. MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has not raised the health of Mr. Ocalan or his prison conditions with the Turkish Government.

However, the British embassy in Ankara has discussed these issues with Mr. Ocalan's lawyers, most recently on 16 December.

The UK is working closely with the Turkish Government in support of its efforts to improve human rights. A bilateral human rights dialogue was held on 26 November 2002 during which the issue of prison reform was raised. The British Government have funded a number of bilateral projects to assist Turkey in the reform and modernisation of its prison system, in order to promote respect for the human rights of all prisoners.

Mugabe Regime

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment

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he has made of crimes under international law which may have been committed by members of the Mugabe regime; and if he will make a statement. [95353]

Mr. Rammell: We receive evidence of the Mugabe regime's widespread abuse of human rights from a number of sources inside Zimbabwe, and we monitor the situation closely. We have consistently condemned the regime for its appalling human rights record and its use of torture on political opponents. We will continue to work with international partners in focusing attention on human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.

Mullah Omar

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received concerning the current whereabouts of the former Taliban leader Mullah Omar. [95319]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We continue to discuss the whereabouts of Mullah Omar with our international partners. We will continue to use all means at our disposal to bring him to justice.

Osama bin Laden

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received concerning the current whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. [95310]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have received a number of reports as to the possible whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. It has been the practice of successive governments not to comment on intelligence matters. The Security and Intelligence Agencies are outside the scope of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (Paragraph 6, Part I).

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with (a) Governments and (b) intelligence organisations within the last six months regarding Osama bin Laden. [95311]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We continue to have a wide range of discussions about Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders, with our international partners.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken by the British Government and its allies to monitor the (a) whereabouts and (b) activities of Osama bin Laden. [95313]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We and our allies in the coalition against international terrorism will continue to use all means at our disposal to bring Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders to justice.

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the last confirmed sighting of Osama bin Laden was; and if he will make a statement. [95321]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: There have been numerous reported sightings of Osama bin Laden since 9/11. We and our coalition partners will continue to hunt for bin Laden and the other al-Qaeda leaders to bring them to justice.

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Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what resources are being channelled towards the hunt for Osama bin Laden; and what the costs are to date. [95322]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: It is not possible to identify the specific costs of hunting down Osama bin Laden. This is a key objective in the wider campaign against international terrorism, which involves the whole range of military, diplomatic and intelligence effort and undertaken in co-operation with international partners.

Osama bin Laden/al-Qaeda

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the regimes which his Department suspect of (a) having given and (b) continuing to give aid to Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda organisation. [95312]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The global network of al-Qaeda and its associated groups have located themselves in countries where governments are unable to exercise full control over their territories or where the authorities have offered them their protection and/or collusion.

Saudi Arabia (British Detainees)

Dr. Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Foreign Office has done to ensure that the alibis presented by the British detainees charged with bombings in Saudi Arabia have been properly investigated by the Saudi Arabian authorities. [95522]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The details of individual consular cases are confidential. The British men in Saudi Arabia have legal representation and discuss their cases with their lawyers. We are in close contact with the men's lawyers and we keep the families informed of developments in the case. It has been the wish of the men that we do not discuss the cases in detail in public.

Sudan

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Ministers from his Department have visited Sudan since 1997. [94763]

Mr. Rammell: The then Minister of State the late Derek Fatchett visited Sudan in July 1998, when he helped to broker a ceasefire in Bahr el Ghazal.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent fighting that has broken out in Western Upper Nile in the Sudan. [95065]

Mr. Rammell: There have been recent reports of fighting around Leer, Tam, Lara and Nhialdou in Western Upper Nile (Unity State). The US-led Civilian Protection Monitoring Team (CPMT) has investigated alleged attacks against civilians in Western Upper Nile and alleged violations of the Memorandum of Understanding on cessation of hostilities in Western Upper Nile. Their report has been presented to the Government of Sudan and the SPLM/A for comment before dissemination.

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We expect the parties to reach agreement soon on an improved verification and monitoring mechanism to underpin the Memorandum of Understanding on cessation of hostilities. This should help to reduce tension until a full ceasefire agreement can be worked out.

Venezuela

Mr. Pike: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what recent discussions he has had with other countries regarding the situation in Venezuela; [95333]

(2) what discussions he has had with countries working with Venezuela to end the national strike there; and if he will make a statement; [95350]

(3) what discussions he has had with the Venezuelan Government and other interested parties since the Venezuelan President was temporarily deposed from power last year; and if he will make a statement; [95336]

(4) what discussions he is having with the Venezuelan Government and opposition forces regarding the situation in Venezuela; and if he will make a statement; [95334]

(5) when Government Ministers last met representatives of the Venezuelan Government; what discussions took place; and if he will make a statement. [95335]

Mr. Rammell: We have maintained regular contact with the government and opposition. I discussed our concerns with the Vice President of the National Assembly on 18 November.

In all those contacts, and in discussions with EU partners and members of the recently constructed Group of Friends supporting the OAS (Organisation of American States) facilitation efforts, we have stressed the importance of respect for the constitution and democratic principles.

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