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23 Jun 2003 : Column 592W—continued
Mauritania
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the present situation in Mauritania. [119763]
Mr. Rammell: The situation in Mauritania, although still tense, is returning to normal following a coup attempt on 8 to 9 June 2003. This attempt has failed. Mauritanian Government forces have re-taken areas seized by the rebels, arrested coup leaders and are mopping up the remaining pockets of resistance.
My right hon. Friend the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mike O'Brien) issued a press release on 10 June 2003 deploring the attempted coup and my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister sent President Taya a message of sympathy.
North Korea
Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential nuclear threat from North Korea. [120161]
Mr. MacShane: We have long-standing concerns about North Korea's nuclear programmes. These concerns have been heightened by recent statements and actions by the North Korean Government.
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We and our allies continue to take all available opportunities to urge North Korea to allow the return of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor activities at its nuclear facilities.
Serbia
Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Serbian Government's co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. [119990]
Mr. MacShane: The Serbia and Montenegro (SaM) authorities have taken several recent positive steps in co-operating with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
In April this year, Serbia and Montenegro amended their legislation on co-operation with the ICTY to facilitate better compliance. Since January 2003, the Serbia and Montenegro authorities have transferred five ICTY indictees to the Hague: former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic; Vojislav Seselj, leader of the Serbian Radical Party (SRS); Miroslav Radic, a former Captain of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA); Franko Simatovic, former commander of the now disbanded Special Operations Unit of the Serbian Interior Ministry (Red Berets); the Jovica Stanisic, former Chief of the Republic of Serbia State Service.
On 13 June 2003, I issued a press release in which I commended the Serbia and Montenegro authorities for the arrest of retired JNA Colonel Veselin Sljivancanin, who was indicted in 1995 for alleged involvement in war crimes committed near Vukovar, Croatia in 1991. His arrest is a further indication of the SaM authorities' determination to co-operate with the ICTY and I look forward to his transfer to The Hague.
Full co-operation with the ICTY is needed in order to secure international aid and closer integration with Euro-Atlantic organisations. I urge the Serbia and Montenegro authorities to transfer all remaining ICTY indictees on SaM territory to The Hague and allow the ICTY full access to archives and witnesses.
Sewel Motions
Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those Sewel motions passed by the Scottish Parliament since May 1999 that apply to his Department's responsibilities and Government bills he has sponsored. [120695]
Mr. Straw: No bill sponsored by my Department has been the subject of a Sewel motion in the Scottish Parliament.
Sierra Leone
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the response of the Department to the actions of Ghana in relation to the arrest warrant issued by the UN-backed War Crimes Tribunal in Sierra Leone. [119366]
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Mr. Mullin: The UK strongly supports the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the principle that everybody should be answerable for their actions. My noble friend the Secretary of State for International Development (Baroness Amos) has emphasised this point to President Kufuor, while welcoming the efforts of Ghana and ECOWAS to secure peace for the people of Liberia.
The Special Court for Sierra Leone was not established under a Security Council Chapter VII Resolution, and states are not legally obliged to co-operate with Court. The Security Council has however, called on all states to do so and the Court has been moving to establish extradition agreements with key countries although we understand that the Court does not, at present, have such an agreement with Ghana.
Taylor is a malign influence in the region. We urge him to surrender himself to the Court. We will continue to encourage all states, particularly those in the region, to facilitate his arrest.
Sunset Clauses
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to include a sunset clause in all new legislation promoted by his Department unless a specific case can be made to exclude a sunset clause. [120846]
Mr. Straw: No. Whether such a clause is needed depends on the circumstances of each Bill. In the case of the FCO much of our legislation is to implement HMG's international obligations, so if those obligations do not have a specific time limit, a limit in our domestic legislation would not be appropriate.
Sustainable Development
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on what remit relating to sustainable development is (a) required of and (b) undertaken by his Department's (i) executive agencies, (ii) advisory non-departmental bodies, (iii) executive non-departmental bodies, (iv) tribunals, (v) public corporations and (vi) other bodies. [120051]
Mr. Straw: The FCO has a long-standing commitment to promoting international sustainable development based on the outcome of the Earth Summit held in Rio in 1992, and more recently, the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002. Promoting sustainable development is one of the top seven strategic policy priorities for the FCO over the next 10 years. The FCO expects all organisations for which it is responsible to reflect the strategic objectives of the Department. In the light of the right hon. Gentleman's question these organisations are being reminded of our commitments.
The FCO has two Public Service Agreements that relate to sustainable development (Business Plan 2002–06):
Make globalisation work for sustainable development in the UK and internationally (especially in Africa) by promoting democracy and the rule of law, good
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economic and environmental governance, and security of long-term energy supply, measured by specific underlying targets.
Improvement in the governance, environment and security of the overseas territories, and more diversified economic development, as measured by implementation of the commitments in the 1999 White Paper, "Partnership for Progress and Prosperity—Britain and the Overseas Territories".
We cannot be secure or prosperous in isolation from the rest of the world. We are working towards poverty reduction and sustainable development in all parts of the world and we are promoting democratic values, human rights and good government which underpin this. The FCO works closely with other Government Departments (OGDs), NGOs, business, international organisations, to deliver these outcomes.
The FCO is working to secure commitments made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development on a range of issues. For example, the FCO is playing a leading role in partnerships on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, Partnership for Principle 10 (environmental governance), and the Sustainable Tourism Initiative. It is also working with OGDs on commitments around International Sustainable Development Governance, co-ordinated World Summit for Sustainable Development/Monterray follow-up, trade reform Corporate Social Responsibility, oceans, and sustainable production and consumption.
Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment is made of environmental impact against sustainable development criteria of bids for grants awarded by his Department; and whether these assessments are published. [120052]
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Mr. Straw: All bidders to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Global Opportunities Fund (GOF) are required to disclose whether the project has been screened for potential environmental impacts, and to describe any impacts inherent in their projects. Bids to the GOF are assessed by officials, depending on the nature of the proposal, against criteria which include the potential environmental impact of the project. Their assessments are not published, but bidders are given comprehensive feedback on unsuccessful bids.
International Criminal Court
Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has signed an Article 98 agreement with the United States in respect of the International Criminal Court. [120880]
Mr. Rammell: No agreement has been signed. Foreign Office officials received US delegates to discuss this issue last October. These were preliminary discussions. Officials explained that the UK could only consider signing an agreement if it was consistent with our obligations under the Rome Statute and in line with EU guiding Principles. The US undertook to reflect on this and have yet to come back to us.
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