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4 Jun 2003 : Column 435W—continued

Diplomatic Missions

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 16 May 2003, Official Report, column 497W, what information he has on the facilities provided by other diplomatic missions for people to get a message about their health and safety to relatives in the UK. [116139]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: When a British national gets into difficulties overseas, the nearest British Consulate or embassy will make every effort to inform the next of kin in the UK. In cases of serious accidents or deaths, we ask the police in the UK to deliver the news personally.

We expect foreign nationals with relatives or friends in the UK to contact their own Consulate for assistance.

Enemy Documents (Seizure)

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what lessons for the seizure of enemy documents in future campaigns have been drawn from the seizure by unauthorised personnel of Iraqi Government documents. [116597]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We are reviewing this and other lessons learned.

EU Enlargement

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what period after accession countries joining the European Union will be allowed derogations on matters within EU policy. [116795]

Mr. MacShane: I will write to my hon. Friend shortly and place a copy in the Library of the House.

Euro

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he received the Treasury documents relating to the five economic tests and the 18 background studies; what discussions he has held with ministerial colleagues on the tests since receipt of the documents; when he expects to complete his analysis of the documents; and what representations (a) he and (b) departmental officials will make to other Departments before a decision is reached on the economic tests. [115389]

Mr. MacShane: The Treasury's 18 supporting studies on EMU were sent to Cabinet Ministers on 16 May. My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Chancellor held meetings with Cabinet Members. There was an initial discussion at Cabinet on 22May which will be followed by a special Cabinet meeting on 5 June. The Chancellor will make a statement to the House of Commons on 9 June.

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Indonesia

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Indonesia concerning the use of Hawk fighter jets in Aceh. [115784]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Following the outbreak of hostilities in Aceh, our Ambassador in Jakarta sought to reconfirm the assurances from the Indonesian Government that British military equipment would not be used in an offensive role. Subsequently we have been told that Hawk aircraft have not and will not be used for combat; including ground attack in Aceh.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many members of the Indonesian armed forces have been trained by the United Kingdom since 1997; and at what cost. [115786]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The United Kingdom has trained 27 officers from the Indonesian armed forces since 1997 at a cost of £317,693. A further 23 officers were awarded Chevening Scholarships since 1997 at a cost of £302,924.

In addition, two officers and one civilian member of the Indonesian Ministry of Defence attended the regional 'Managing Defence in a Democracy' course held in Singapore in September 2002. The cost of this course was approximately £2,800 per student.

Mr. Berry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what notification the Government received from the Indonesian Government of their intention to deploy (a) Hawk aircraft and (b) other equipment built in and exported from the UK, in Aceh; [116498]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The British Government received notification from the Indonesian Government that they might deploy British-built military equipment to Aceh for casualty removal and logistics in August 2002. In light of this, fresh assurances were given by the Indonesians that British-built military equipment would not be used to violate human rights anywhere in Indonesia in September 2002. The Indonesians also said that the equipment would not be used offensively. These assurances cover all British-built military equipment.

The Indonesian Government confirmed that British-supplied Hawk aircraft were used in Aceh on 19 May 2003, on the first day of renewed military action, but assured us that they were not used offensively. Nonetheless, I remain concerned that the use of the Hawk in Aceh may have been in breach of earlier

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assurances, and am actively seeking further assurance from the Indonesian Government about the future use of Hawk aircraft in Aceh. I will be raising the issue of the use of British-built equipment with the Indonesians on a visit to Indonesia this week. There have been no confirmed reports of other British-built military equipment being used in military action in Aceh. We continue to monitor the situation closely.

Intergovernmental Conference

Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what status will be accorded to the accession states of the European Union at the forthcoming intergovernmental conference in terms of (a) negotiation rights and (b) voting rights; and if he will make a statement. [116062]

Mr. MacShane: The UK fully supports the conclusions of the Copenhagen European Council, which state that "the new Member States will participate fully in the next Intergovernmental Conference". We understand this to mean they will have the same negotiating rights and voting rights as current member states.

Iraq

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the admission of UN human rights monitors throughout Iraq and the establishment of a UN commission of experts to advise on approaches to ensuring justice in Iraq. [114880]

Mr. Rammell: The fall of Saddam Hussein's regime brought to an end a long period of violations of the Iraqi people's human rights. As requested in UN Security Council Resolution 1483, put forward by the UK, US and Spain and adopted on 22 May 2003, the UN Secretary-General has appointed a Special Representative whose responsibilities include the promotion of human rights. The UN, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, is examining how to take this forward, including whether to deploy UN human rights monitors. We aim to work closely with the Special Representative. In addition, working to support the people of Iraq in moving toward the establishment of a representative government based on the rule of law and affording equal rights and justice to all Iraqi citizens will be the best means to ensure that their human rights are protected.

As for ensuring justice in Iraq, we are keen for the UN to play a role in the reform of the judicial system and, as appropriate, in transitional justice. It will be necessary to follow the wishes of the Iraqi people on this issue and, as far as this is possible, to have an Iraqi led process. We have sent a small team of experts to Iraq to assess the current capacity of the Iraqi judicial system in relation to transitional justice, to consult suitable Iraqi bodies as they are established and to make recommendations.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response he has made to the request by the Director-General of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency on 19 May 2003 that IAEA inspectors be allowed back into Iraq. [115672]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: An announcement was made on 21 May 2003 that inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be allowed to return to Iraq to resume their monitoring activities in relation to the IAEA'S nuclear safeguards agreement with Iraq. They will check to ensure the continued safety of Iraq's declared nuclear materials and facilities in accordance with Iraq's safeguards agreement with the agency.

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Turkish Government on retaining the territorial integrity of Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [115683]

Mr. MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed Turkey's policy towards Iraq with Abdullah Gül, the Turkish Foreign Minister, during bilateral talks in Brussels on 21 March 2003. He also raised the subject with Mr. Gül in a telephone conversation on 12 April 2003. In addition, we have frequently discussed Iraq with the Turkish Government at official level in the past few months. The Turkish Government have consistently affirmed their commitment to maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq.

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what restrictions have been placed by the occupying powers in Iraq on exiles wishing to return to their country. [115892]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The coalition has placed no formal restrictions on exiles wishing to return home to Iraq.

UK Government travel advice currently advises British nationals against visiting Iraq. Iraqi nationals wishing to return to Iraq should be aware of the continued security risks of doing so and should register their interest with the International Organisation for Migration in London.

Iraqis who have applied for asylum status in the UK may find that the credibility of their asylum application could be affected if they visit Iraq and then return to the UK.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of the United States concerning the representation of women on the interim administration for Iraq. [116035]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Our Special Representative to Iraq, John Sawers, and his team in Baghdad are working closely with Ambassador Bremer and US officials in the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) on the issue of engaging Iraqi women in the political and reconstruction process in Iraq. We have also seconded a gender expert from the Women and Equality Unit to the ORHA team. We believe having women well represented in any interim administration is a priority and are working towards this goal.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of Palestinian refugees in Iraq being evicted from their homes because they have no money to pay rent previously waived; and if he will make a statement. [116259]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: We are aware of the problems faced by the Palestinians resident in Iraq generally. We are continuing to work through the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq on refugee issues and are liaising closely with humanitarian agencies in Baghdad, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the ethnic violence in Kirkuk. [116414]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Coalition forces and the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) are seeking to reduce ethnic tensions across northern Iraq. We remain in touch with Coalition forces on the ground, which have recently been reinforced to increase security throughout the city and beyond. We welcome the formation on 24 May of the Kirkuk interim technical council comprising representation from all ethnic communities, together with the selection of a Kurdish Mayor, Arab Deputy Mayor and provision for mayoral assistants from other ethnic groups on 28 May.

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department made before the Gulf conflict of the importance of capturing Iraqi Government documents in relation to the discovery of Iraqi (i) weapons of mass destruction and (ii) links with terrorist groups. [116599]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UK Government recognise the importance of securing evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programmes and links to terrorist organisations, both through the seizure of documents and through information obtained by interviewing Iraqi scientists and Government officials. We see this as a high priority, and the effort to uncover evidence will continue.

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the (a) role and (b) activities of al-Jazeera in supporting the former regime in Iraq, following the seizure of Iraqi documents by the Iraqi National Congress. [116603]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The coalition partners in Iraq have secured a large number of official Iraqi documents. We are working on the analysis of these documents. It will take some time to reach conclusions and there is no guarantee that it will be possible to publicise the results of such analysis.

Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reason access to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry in Baghdad had not been sealed by coalition forces by 22 April. [116605]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The instructions issued to both UK and US coalition forces were to attempt to secure any documents that might be in the possession of the Iraqi authorities. Following entry into Baghdad, the coalition forces on the ground had to set priorities, focusing in particular on stabilising the security situation and minimising loss of life.

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