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26 Mar 2003 : Column 258W—continued
Middle East
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the United States on the use of NATO peacekeepers as part of the road map for peace in the Middle East. [104669]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: None. But we believe that third-party monitoring, accepted by both parties, would serve the interests of Israel and the Palestinian Authority in
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their search for peace. The Quartet roadmap contains provisions for establishing such a mechanism. We stand ready to help in any way we can.
Sierra Leone
Mr. Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the state of the peace settlement in Sierra Leone; and if he will make a statement. [104141]
Mr. Rammell: This year Sierra Leone celebrated its first year of peace in over a decade. Disarmament was completed and the war declared over in January 2002. Credible and peaceful elections were held in May. But, much remains to be done to consolidate peace. The UN peacekeeping mission, UNAMSIL, remains deployed throughout the country. It has begun to withdraw, in a phased process, which should last 18 to 20 months.
On 10 March the Special Court for Sierra Leone indicted seven people suspected of war crimes. Five are now in custody. This action represents an important step forward for the Court and signals Sierra Leone's determination to end impunity. At the same time, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) is making good progress with statement-taking. Over 4,700 statements have been recorded to date. We welcome the TRC Chairman's recent announcement that donors have pledged an additional $3.7 million (US) in support of its work.
The UK continues to play a leading role in building a lasting peace. This month a deployment of Gurkhas undertook joint exercises with the Sierra Leone armed forces as a demonstration of the UK's support for the settlement process. Key post-conflict challenges include helping the Government of Sierra Leone to:
- reform the security sector;
train and strengthen the capacity of the armed forces and police;
reintegrate former combatants, returning refugees and the internally displaced;
tackle corruption;
promote justice (including through the establishment of the Sierra Leone Special Court) and reconciliation (through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission);
introduce policies for managing and securing the diamond fields;
strengthen democratic institutions and civil society;
put in place effective public administration and management of public finances, rebuild the country's basic infrastructure and services; and
develop industry and the economy.
The ongoing conflict in Liberia and President Taylor's regime, which has not yet met the demands of the Security Council and continues to breach UN sanctions, remain a threat to the peace in Sierra Leone. Through the Liberia Contact Group and other mechanisms we are seeking a peaceful solution and real reform in Liberia.
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Taiwan
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is his policy to support a request by Taiwan to be given observer status at the World Health Organisation; and if he will make a statement. [104635]
Mr. Rammell: There are difficulties over Taiwanese involvement in a UN forum where statehood is a prerequisite for full membership. We would consider with our EU partners any proposal for Taiwanese involvement in the World Health Organisation (WHO) which took account of these difficulties.
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 human rights in Turkey; and which cases were discussed. [104631]
Mr. MacShane: When my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met Turkish leaders at the Copenhagen European Council in December, and in subsequent telephone conversations, he raised the importance of implementing the substantial packages of human rights reforms passed by the Turkish Parliament and encouraged the Turkish Government to take the further steps necessary to meet the Copenhagen political criteria. He did not raise any specific cases.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials closely follow a number of individual cases.
UN Commission for Compensation
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about his policy on the future of the UN Commission for Compensation; how much the outstanding claims are; and whether they will be paid. [104533]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UK has supported the work of the United Nations Commission for Compensation (UNCC) since its creation in 1991. 25 per cent. of Oil for Food funds continue to be paid to the UNCC. The UNCC has received about 2.6 million claims seeking compensation in excess of US $300 billion for losses arising out of the illegal invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1991, the majority of which have been resolved. The Commission is continuing its work on outstanding claims.
Visa Applications
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department began electronic compilation of statistics in relation to family visitor visa applications, decisions and appeals. [105028]
Mr. Rammell: We started compiling statistical information electronically on Family visitor visa applications, decision and appeals on Monday 2 October 2000.
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War Crimes Tribunal
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) men and (b) women have (i) appeared, (ii) been convicted and (iii) been sentenced at the war crimes tribunal in The Hague, broken down by nationality. [104630]
Mr. Rammell: Information about the indictees of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) can be found on the ICTY website at: www.un.org/icty together with details about the progress of trial proceedings and sentences.
Westminster Foundation for Democracy
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his estimate is of his Department's total net spending on the Westminster Foundation for Democracy in each year from 1990–91 to 2005–06 (planned); and if he will make a statement. [98436]
Mr. Rammell: The Westminster Foundation for Democracy was not set up until 1992. Details of the FCO's total net spending on WFD for each of the financial year's 1992–93 to 2002–03 are as follows:
| Grant in Aid | Additional Project Funding | |
|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 4,162,577 | 296,161 |
| 2001–02 | 4,156,000 | 422,876 |
| 2000–01 | 4,155,000 | 221,240 |
| 1999–2000 | 4,427,818 | — |
| 1998–99 | 3,000,000 | — |
| 1997–98 | 2,713,650 | — |
| 1996–97 | 2,500,000 | — |
| 1995–96 | 2,500,000 | — |
| 1994–95 | 2,200,000 | — |
| 1993–94 | 2,000,000 | — |
| 1992–93 (13 months) | 1,192,600 | — |
For the next three financial years, the details have yet to be worked out. The Grant in Aid is expected to remain reasonably constant at around £4 million per year.
The increase from £2.7 million in 1997–98 to over £4 million in 1999–2000 was a result of Resource Allocation Round (RAR) 2000, when WFD bid for an uplift in funding to match the increased number of projects spanning two or more financial years and the general increase in pressure on existing resources.
Zimbabwe
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2002, Official Report, column 962W, on Zimbabwe, if he will make a statement on the results of further investigations into contacts between Andrew Smith and Government officials. [103466]
Mr. Rammell: Further investigations since our 5 December reply have revealed that Andrew Smith telephoned the British High Commission in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on one occasion towards the end of 2002. He spoke briefly to the Defence Attache about his
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legitimate business interests connected with a case he has against Sierra National Airlines (SNA). We are not aware of any further contact with Foreign Office officials in London or overseas.
Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2002, Official Report, columns 9–10W, on Zimbabwe, whether further relevant information has been received on contacts between John Bredenkamp and officials in African countries. [103467]
Mr. Rammell: John Bredenkamp wrote to the Foreign Secretary on 3 February 2003 about the 8 October 2002 report of the UN Experts Panel on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources and Other Forms of Wealth of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Foreign Office replied on 21 February 2003.
Mr Bredenkamp telephoned the High Commission in Harare on 13 January, but there have been no meetings with him.
As far as we aware, there has been no other contact between John Bredenkamp and UK officials in London or overseas.
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