---

26 Jun 2003 : Column 937W—continued

Afghanistan

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan of the time required to register voters in Afghanistan for democratic elections scheduled to take place in 2004. [121974]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: According to the Bonn Agreement, elections must be held in Afghanistan by June 2004. The UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) is working closely with the Afghan Transitional Administration to develop a programme of voter registration. The actual process of registration is scheduled to begin in August and run through the winter until March 2004. Subject to security constraints, rural areas, less accessible in winter, will be registered first

26 Jun 2003 : Column 938W

followed then by urban areas. Registration will be non-compulsory and conducted individually, to ensure privacy. UNAMA expect to have a final voters list ready by May 2004.

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funds (a) have been provided and (b) have been pledged by (i) the UK, (ii) the EU and (iii) the international community to assist the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the Afghan Transitional Authority in registering voters in Afghanistan. [121975]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan have estimated that the elections and voter registration will cost about US$84 million. However, the UN have not yet formally issued a request for funding from donors. The UK Government and other donors will consider requests once they have been made.

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the International Crisis Group report on the constitutional process in Afghanistan, published on 12 June. [121976]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The International Crisis Group report on the constitutional process in Afghanistan highlights a number of important issues that will affect the integrity of the constitutional process, including the importance of ensuring adequate security to allow the Afghan people to participate freely. However, the report contains several factual errors to which the United Nations has drawn attention, and inaccurately portrays both the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the international community as being insufficiently committed to the constitutional process. The British Government continues to support both the Afghan Transitional Administration and UNAMA in their efforts to support the constitution-making process, including by helping to fund the popular consultation on the constitution which is currently under way.

Colombia

Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government will take to ensure full account is taken of the recommendations made by non-governmental organisations to the forthcoming meeting for international support for Colombia on 10 July. [121834]

Mr. Rammell: Representatives from civil society have been invited to make a presentation at the London Meeting on International Support for Colombia on 10 July. We shall ensure that participants in the meeting take full account of these views in further discussion throughout the meeting and beyond.

Convention on the Future of Europe

Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the areas of decision-making where the current treaties require unanimity and which would move to qualified majority voting under the Convention on the Future of Europe's proposed draft European Constitution. [121998]

26 Jun 2003 : Column 939W

Mr. MacShane: Annex VIII of document number CONV 727/03 of the Convention on the Future of Europe provides a complete list of the legal bases for which the draft EU constitutional treaty proposes changing the adoption procedure. That document is available on the Convention's website www.european-convention.eu.int in the "Documents" section.

Family Visit Visas

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many family visitor visa applications were (a) received, (b) determined and (c) refused at each entry clearance post in each month since January 2003. [120602]

Mr. Mullin: The information requested is as follows:

	Family Visitor Applications Received	Family Visitor Applications Determined	Family Visitor Applications Refused
January	19,013	18,182	4,995
February	16,972	18,207	4,908
March	22,223	18,238	5,347

The table shows the number of family visitor applications received, determined and refused at our visa issuing posts worldwide for the period January to March 2003. The figures for April and May are currently being collated and are not yet available. Those family visitor applications which have been determined are those which have been resolved, either through the refusal or the grant of entry clearance.

The hon. Member may find apparent errors in the arithmetic. For example in February, 16,972 applications were received, but 18,207 were resolved. This is due to a variety of reasons. Applications can be carried forward from one month to the next before being resolved. Applications may be withdrawn during processing but still count as an application received. Posts are also required to count all applications received (a mother and three children on one passport may count as four applications, but only one entry clearance may be issued).

Iraq

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British personnel are searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; and how many sites they have visited. [115497]

Mr. Hoon: I have been asked to reply.

Coalition investigations into Iraqi programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction are moving from an initial approach based on specific sites to a broader approach, encompassing other forms of evidence such as documentation and interviews, under the auspices of the Iraq Survey Group. On current plans the United Kingdom contribution to the Iraq Survey Group will be around 90–100 personnel, military and civilian, supported by Coalition forces. As at 22 June 2003, Coalition forces had initiated investigations into 159 sites within Iraq, from a list of over 500, which may be connected to programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction. Additionally, investigations had been

26 Jun 2003 : Column 940W

initiated into a further 83 sites identified since the conflict began. We anticipate that further sites will be identified as investigations progress.

Jonathan Shaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) mass graves and (b) bodies have been discovered by United Kingdom and United States forces in Iraq. [121567]

Mr. Rammell: At present, the coalition has received reports of more than 80 mass grave sites, and has confirmed the existence of more than 20. Estimates place the number of people executed by the Saddam Hussein regime at around 300,000, and some human rights organisations place this number higher.

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria are to be used for the selection of members of the Iraqi council; and how many of those being considered are women. [121972]

Mr. Rammell: The political council will be formed in consultation with representatives of a wide cross-section of Iraqi society and political groupings. We expect it to reflect Iraq's diversity, through the inclusion of representatives of the major ethnic and religious groups, geographical regions, women and professional people.

The UK attaches a high priority to the effective representation of women. We are working with Iraqis, with our coalition partners and with the United Nations Special Representative to achieve this.

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what timescale he envisages for the establishment of the Iraqi council announced by Mr. Paul Bremer; and what issues he expects to appear on the agenda of the council's first meeting. [121973]

Mr. Rammell: Ambassador Bremer's aim is for a political council to be established by the end of July.

No decisions have been taken yet on how it will operate. Among the first issues we expect the political council to deal with are the appointment of interim Ministers; and the setting up of commissions to deal with issues such as judicial and economic reform.

Mr. Jonathan Brown

Mr. David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the British embassy in Oman formally requested a complete set of the travel ban documentation that applies in the case of a constituent, Mr. Jonathan Brown. [120680]

Mr. Mullin [holding answer 20 June 2003]: Travel ban directives originate from the Omani authorities only. Our Embassy in Muscat cannot interfere in the Omani judicial and administrative system. Our own judicial and administrative systems are similarly protected.

Mr. Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the British Embassy in Oman have taken to ensure that the Omani authorities regularise the visa status of a constituent, Mr. Jonathan Brown; and what steps the Embassy is taking to secure his return to the UK. [120681]

26 Jun 2003 : Column 941W

Mr. Mullin [holding answer 20 June 2003]: For Mr. Brown to be able to leave Oman, the local authorities require him to regularise his expired visa and pay the court judgment of approximately £10,000 against him. Our Embassy wrote to Mr. Brown on 20 July 2002 explaining this. On 5 February 2003 an Embassy staff member assisted Mr. Brown by taking his passport to the immigration services to secure the visa extension. The authorities could not, however, proceed, as Mr. Brown was unable to provide all of the information required. On 19 May our Ambassador reminded Mr. Brown in a letter that the Omani authorities required this information; to date Mr. Brown has not given it to them. We have repeatedly offered to contact Mr. Brown's family to secure funds to pay his judgment. Mr. Brown has not responded to these offers.

---