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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Gaza (Waivers)

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Israeli Government regarding the requirement for foreigners entering the Gaza Strip to sign waivers which absolve the Israeli army of responsibility should they be injured or killed by Israeli forces.[ [113734]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I have asked officials to take this matter up with the Israeli authorities in London and Tel Aviv as soon as possible.

Aceh

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the political situation in Aceh. [113705]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA), signed by the Indonesian Government and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on 9 December 2002, has broken down. Talks held in Tokyo on 17 to 18 May 2003, aimed at salvaging the peace process, failed to reach agreement. The Indonesian Government have declared a state of martial law in Aceh, with the risk that the security situation will deteriorate.

Despite the efforts of both sides, we regret the talks held in Tokyo did not achieve a positive result. We continue to impress upon both sides that a long-term solution to Aceh can only be achieved through peaceful dialogue and full implementation of the COHA. We hope that both sides will quickly return to the negotiating table.

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Indonesian Government regarding attacks on international observers and civilians in Aceh. [113706]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: A joint declaration by the co-chairs of the Tokyo Conference on Peace and Reconstruction in Aceh, Japan, EU, US and the World bank, was issued on 9 April 2003. The statement deplored the violence and threats of violence directed against several of the international monitoring teams, and urged the Indonesian Government to take immediate steps to ensure the security of monitors in the field. The monitors have since been withdrawn from Aceh.

The EU, Japan and the US recognise that the end of the peace process could bring violence and suffering to the people of Aceh. Co-sponsors have been actively involved in persuading both sides that they should continue the political dialogue. We hope that both sides will quickly return to the negotiating table.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in the formation of an inclusive transitional Government for the Democratic Republic of Congo. [113636]

Mr. Rammell: There has been good progress on the formation of a transitional national Government (TNG) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since agreement on its establishment was reached on 2 April 2003 in Sun City (South Africa). Most candidates for the TNG have now been selected. We understand installation is envisaged in June 2003.

The UK has been actively engaged with our African, EU and UN partners in promoting a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the DRC. We will continue to play our part, as a member of the International Committee for Support to the Transition, which is tasked with supporting the transitional process in the DRC.

Egypt (Murders)

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he is making to the Egyptian Government on bringing the murderers of Christians and a Muslim in El-Kosheh to justice; and if he will make a statement. [113873]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We were deeply concerned by the sectarian violence in El-Kosheh in 2000, which left 20 Christians and one Muslim dead. In the resulting trial, four men were convicted (out of 96 accused), all for the murder of the Muslim and public order offences. After an appeal, a re-trial began in May 2002. The verdict was issued on 27 February 2003. Two of the original convictions were upheld and harsher sentences passed, but the other two were acquitted, along with the 92 acquitted at the first trial.

On 13 March 2003, the Prosecutor-General appealed again. This is an indication that the Egyptian legal authorities recognise that justice has not been done and are taking steps to attempt to rectify the injustice. We will continue to follow developments closely.

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Gibraltar

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the proposed visit by Her Majesty the Queen to Gibraltar. [114004]

Mr. MacShane: Her Majesty's programme of visits for the next calendar year has not yet been finalised.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on recent talks between the UK Government and Spanish Government in relation to Gibraltar; and whether an agreement was reached between the UK Government and Government of Spain over the future of Gibraltar. [114175]

Mr. MacShane: There are frequent discussions between the Government and the Government of Spain on a range of EU and other foreign policy issues. There have been no recent discussions concentrating on Gibraltar.

Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions the Government has had with the Government of Spain in relation to the territorial waters between Gibraltar and Morocco; and whether agreement was reached with the Government of Spain over the sovereignty of the Straits of Gibraltar. [114176]

Mr. MacShane: We have had no discussions with the Government of Spain on this issue.

Guantanamo Bay

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether the terms of imprisonment for those held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are in accordance with UN resolutions on the protection of all persons under any form of detention or imprisonment. [113720]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The US has told us that the detainees at Guantanamo Bay are being treated humanely and consistently with the principles of the Geneva Conventions. We have only had limited access to detainees so it is difficult to make an independent assessment.

Iraq

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure the implementation of UN resolution 57/232 to deploy human rights monitors in Iraq. [114318]

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he will take to assist the United Nations Security Council in playing an effective role in the promotion and protection of human rights in post-conflict Iraq. [115456]

Mr. Rammell: The fall of Saddam Hussein's regime has brought to an end a long period of violations of the Iraqi people's human rights. The draft UN Security Council Resolution, put forward by the UK, US and Spain, proposes that there should be a UN Special Representative whose responsibilities would include the

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promotion of human rights. Working to support the people of Iraq in moving toward the establishment of a representative government affording equal rights and justice to all Iraqi citizens will be the best means of ensuring that their human rights are protected.

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to secure the establishment by the United Nations Security Council of an impartial commission to examine and analyse information regarding (a) war crimes, (b) crimes against humanity and (c) genocide committed in Iraq. [115455]

Mr. Rammell: The draft resolution tabled in the Security Council by the UK, US and Spain calls on all member states of the UN to support action to bring to justice members of the previous Iraqi regime responsible for crimes and atrocities. The UN Special Representative is given a specific mandate to encourage international efforts to promote legal and judicial reform. We believe that the process of dealing with past crimes should be led by the people of Iraq. A team of experts is currently assessing the capacity of the Iraqi judicial system to deal with such crimes, and the extent of international assistance that will be needed.

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to ensure that the Occupying Powers in Iraq report to the United Nations Security Council their provisions for the promotion and protection of human rights for Iraqi civilians. [115457]

Mr. Rammell: The UK and US, as Occupying Powers, intend to report regularly to the UN Security Council on all aspects of their responsibilities in Iraq. The draft resolution currently under discussion in the Security Council reflects this intention, as well as providing for regular reporting by the Secretary-General on the activities of his Special Representative. The latter is specifically charged with promoting the protection of human rights.

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what amendments he plans to table to the draft UN resolution on reconstruction in Iraq to enable UN expertise in post-conflict institution building to be exercised in rebuilding Iraq. [115458]

Mr. Rammell: The role of the Special Representative of the Secretary General, as envisaged by the draft resolution currently under discussion in the UN Security Council, covers a wide range of institution-building activities, specifically:

working intensively with the Authority (the occupying powers), the people of Iraq, and others concerned to advance efforts to restore and establish national and local institutions for representative governance, including by working together to facilitate a process leading to an internationally recognised, representative Government of Iraq;

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facilitating the reconstruction of key infrastructure, in cooperation with other international organisations;


promoting economic reconstruction and the conditions for sustainable development, including through coordination with national and regional organisations, as appropriate, civil society, donors and the international financial institutions;


encouraging international efforts to contribute to basic civilian administration functions;


promoting the protection of human rights;


encouraging international efforts to rebuild the capacity of the Iraqi civilian police force; and


encouraging international efforts to promote legal and judicial reform.

We believe that this adequately addresses the UN role, and have not, therefore, proposed further amendments to the text.

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