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Prisoner Transfer Agreements (US)

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what negotiations have taken place about the setting up of a Prisoner Transfer Agreement with the US; and if he will make a statement. [118263]

Mr. Straw: The Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons (CECTSP) is a multilateral Prisoner Transfer Agreement which currently has 52 contracting member countries. The United Kingdom acceded to the Convention (CECTSP) in 1985. On 21 March 1983 the United States signed the CECTSP and following ratification procedures, US accession to the treaty also came into force on 1 July 1985.

The CECTSP allows prisoners to apply to transfer to serve the remainder of their sentence in their home country. Seven US states have not signed up to the CECTSP; but the US federal Government has said publicly that it is encouraging these states to do so. Therefore, there is no practical need for the UK to negotiate an additional bilateral Agreement with the US.

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Indonesia

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the nature and cost of bilateral military co-operation between the UK and Indonesia, including the training and education of military and police personnel, in each of the last three years. [118137]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Since 2000 all UK bilateral military assistance with Indonesia has been conducted through the UK Security Sector Reform Strategy for Indonesia. This strategy commenced in March 2001 and is a 3-year, £2.5 million programme funded by the MOD, DFID and FCO through the Global Conflict Prevention Pool. Assistance under this strategy is targeted at helping the Indonesian security services become more professional, accountable, transparent and democratic. Projects undertaken so far include human rights training for the Indonesian military through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC); support to establish a democratic framework for policing; and support to help Indonesia move towards a system for civilian authorisation of Rules of Engagement along UK lines.

I refer my hon. Friend also to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hull, North (Mr. McNamara) on 4 June 2003, Official Report, column 436W.

Diamond Smuggling

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role Britain is playing in efforts to detect and prevent international diamond smuggling. [118162]

Mr. Rammell: The European Community is a participant in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, an international agreement initiated by the UK and others, which regulates the international rough diamond trade in order to deal with the threat posed by conflict diamonds. Rough diamonds not accompanied by the appropriate certificate are now classified as prohibited goods in the UK.

The scheme is complemented by a voluntary system of self-regulation implemented by industry, which also covers the cut and polished sector.

Iraq

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the total UK non-military expenditure in Iraq is since the cessation of hostilities. [118204]

Mr. Mike O'Brien [holding answer 9 June 2003]: We have so far allocated £240 million for humanitarian assistance in Iraq since the cessation of hostilities. Actual DfID disbursements to Iraq to date total £85 million. A further £60 million was set aside on 9 April 2003 for Departments to use if needed.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Christian community in Iraq; and what plans he has put in place to ensure that that community plays a full part in the rebuilding of the country. [118358]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: There have been numerous meetings between FCO officials, including the UK Representative to Iraq, John Sawers, and members of the Iraqi Christian community. Representatives of the community are participating in the on-going dialogue between Iraqi groups, the Coalition Provisional Authority and the UN Special Representative, Sergio Vieira de Mello, on the future Iraqi Administration.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the reports by (a) UNSCOM and (b) UNMOVIC which demonstrated Iraqi possession of weapons of mass destruction since 1991. [117627]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Published reports from UNSCOM and UNMOVIC are listed and available for viewing on the United Nations' internet website www.un.org.

Gibraltar

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the Minister for Europe has to visit Gibraltar. [117870]

Mr. MacShane: I hope to visit Gibraltar in due course.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with Buckingham Palace regarding a potential visit to Gibraltar by Her Majesty the Queen. [118267]

Mr. MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had no such discussions.

Paper Supplies

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 22 January 2003, Official Report, column 357W, on paper supplies, whether any of the paper or paper products supplied to his Department by Premier Paper are supplied by Stora Enso's Veitsiluoto Mill in Finland; and what assessment he has made of whether this paper contains timber from (a) old growth forests and (b) timber that may have been logged illegally in Russia. [117573]

Mr. Rammell: None of the paper or paper products supplied to the FCO by Premier Paper are supplied by Stora Enso's Veitsiluoto Mill in Finland.

Representation of Women

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in the representation of women at all levels of government in each Commonwealth country since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [118420]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The 1991 Harare Declaration identified as a priority for the Commonwealth "equality for women so that they may exercise their full and equal rights". And at the Edinburgh Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 1997 the Heads of Government set a target of no less than 30 per cent. of women in decision making in the political, public and private sectors by 2005. In a presentation to the Sixth Commonwealth Women's Affairs Ministerial Meeting

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in 2000, The Gambia was the only country which so far exceeded the 30 per cent. target of women in Cabinet, while South Africa was the only country with more than 30 per cent. of women in Parliament. In local government positions, Seychelles, Uganda, India and Canada exceeded this target. A questionnaire exercise is to be repeated for the next Women's Affairs Ministerial in 2004. The Commonwealth Secretariat continues to devote a major part of its budget to building capacity and providing practical assistance to women, which includes increasing their political participation and decision making. Its gender section works with governments, parliamentarians and civil society to achieve the Commonwealth target.

Sudan (Shariah Law)

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Sudan on the application of the shariah law to juveniles; and if he will make a statement. [117384]

Mr. Rammell: Our embassy in Khartoum regularly raises cases concerning juveniles and other human rights cases, with the Government of Sudan. Most recently this has included the case of juveniles sentenced to death in Darfur and the sentence of lashings given to a 14-year-old girl convicted of adultery. As part of a recent DFID review of the Justice sector in the North of Sudan, experts on law enforcement, good governance and human rights and shariah raised many issues with the Government of Sudan including the application of shariah and criminal law to juveniles. This review will help to inform HMG's development policy in Sudan and ensure that human rights is a key element of that policy.

UN Decolonisation Committee

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the British Government made to the recent meeting of the UN Decolonisation Committee in Anguilla. [117866]

Mr. MacShane: We made clear at the seminar that the agreement of the British and Anguillian governments that the Decolonisation Committee (C24) annual seminar could take place in Anguilla does not represent a change in HMG's policy of informal co-operation with the Committee. We took the opportunity to update the Chairman and members of the C24 on developments in our relations with the Overseas Territories (OTs) since publication of the 1999 White Paper, and in particular the process of constitutional modernisation. We invited the Committee to take account of the extent to which most UK OTs are democratically governed and economically vibrant in their deliberations on whether some of the Territories might soon be removed from the UN list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications for the remaining British colonies resulting from the recent meeting of the UN Decolonisation Committee in Anguilla. [117867]

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Mr. MacShane: We await the formal conclusions of the UN seminar, which have to be approved by the Committee of 24 meeting in plenary.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent meeting of the UN Decolonisation Committee in Anguilla. [117868]

Mr. MacShane: The UN Special Committee on De-Colonisation, known as C24, holds an annual seminar which alternates between the Pacific and Caribbean Regions. This year's seminar (20–22 May) was held in Anguilla and focussed on advancing the de-colonisation process in the Caribbean Overseas Territories and Bermuda. Anguilla is one often British Territories on the UN list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. The Anguilla seminar was attended by Chief Ministers and senior representatives of several of the Territories on the UN list and by invited experts and NGOs. The conclusions of the seminar, when finalised and approved by the C24, will be published as a UN document.

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