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NORTHERN IRELAND
Jubilee Medal
Mr. Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when the Jubilee Medal awarded to fire officers will be presented; and whether all officers and their families will be invited to attend the ceremony. [123501]
Angela Smith: The first Golden Jubilee Medals were presented at Brigade Headquarters on 2 July 2003. The remainder have been issued to Area Commanders for presentation. There were no families at the presentation on 2 July, and it will be for each Area Commander to decide on the dates and other arrangements for the local presentations.
FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Tibet
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of human rights abuses committed by the Chinese against the Tibetan people. [123647]
Mr. Rammell: We remain concerned about the human rights situation in Tibet and continue to urge China to enter into dialogue with the Dalai Lama's representatives.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised our concerns with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing on 25 June 2003.
Global Conflict Prevention Pool
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his
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answer to the right hon. and learned Member for North-East Fife (Mr. Campbell) of 12 May 2003, Official Report, columns 77–8W, what the total annual budget is for the Global Conflict Prevention Pool; whether the GCPP will have a role in (a) Iraq and (b) other war zones; whether the report on the activities of the GCPP will list all its current projects; and when the report is due to be published. [123093]
Mr. Rammell: For the three year Spending Round 2003/04–2005/06, the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP) has a programme budget of £74 million each year.
The funds allocated to the 14 strategies in the Pool for 2003–04, as set in March by a Ministerial Committee chaired by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, total £87.96 million. This figure is higher than the budget mentioned above, because it incorporates funds carried over from previous years under End Year Flexibility arrangements, as well as an element of over programming built into the individual strategies to provide in-year project management flexibility.
For a full list of the strategies and their allocations I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Foreign Secretary to the right hon. and learned Member for North-East Fife (Mr. Campbell) on 10 June 2003, Official Report, column 798W. The country/regional strategies are: Afghanistan, Belize/Guatemala, Central and Eastern Europe, India/Pakistan, Indonesia/East Timor, Middle East and North Africa, Nepal, Russia/Former Soviet Union, Sri Lanka, the Balkans. Programmes in these areas cover conflict prevention and reduction, support to peace processes and post-conflict reconstruction.
A new strategy to support reconstruction and conflict prevention in Iraq is being developed by the three departments which jointly manage the GCPP. An allocation has not yet been set, but funds are available in the GCPP Reserve, and urgent projects for Iraq will be considered for funding from the GCPP Quick Response Fund (QRF) in the meantime.
We expect to publish a Report on the GCPP in September and copies will be sent to Members and also placed in the Library of the House. It will give an overview of the operation of the GCPP strategies and the projects which are being funded under them, but it will not include a comprehensive list of all projects, as they are too numerous.
Colombia
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received concerning the treatment of trade unions in Colombia; and what representations he has made on the matter to the government of Colombia. [123423]
Mr. Rammell: The embassy in Bogota has contacts with trades union representatives in Colombia and receives representations directly and on their behalf from NGOs working in Colombia. I stressed to the Colombian authorities, most recently during my visit to Bogota, the need to provide adequate protection to union activists in order that they may go about their union business safely. In my speech of 25 June at the
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Amnesty International UK Trade Union Network Reception I explained that I had called on the Colombian government to make clear their support for the work of all sections of civil society, including trades unions, stressing that civil society is part of the solution to Colombia's problems.
Correspondence
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the British High Commission in Tanzania will respond to the letter sent by Jasvir Jutla & Co Solicitors, concerning Dinesh J. Vithlani, ref PAF/APP & CON39/7. [122792]
Mr. Mullin: Our High Commission in Dar es Salaam has received three letters from Jasvir Jutla and Co concerning Mr. Dinesh J. Vithlani. The letters were dated 17 December 2002, 14 March 2003 and 17 June 2003. The High Commission replied on 23 December 2002, 31 March 2003 and 26 June 2003 respectively.
Cyprus
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what derogations will apply to the Republic of Cyprus on accession to the EU in the event of (a) no settlement in Cyprus by the date of accession and (b) a settlement close to the date of accession; and if he will make a statement.[R] [123210]
Mr. MacShane: The derogations and conditions which apply to the Republic of Cyprus on accession to the EU are laid out in the EU Accession (Cm 5805), which is available in the Library. I refer my hon. Friend to Protocol 10 of the Command Paper.
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Drug Trafficking (Afghanistan)
Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support is being given to the Iranian government to help combat drug trafficking from Afghanistan. [123295]
Mr. Rammell: Since 1998, the UK has contributed £3.9 million to the strengthening of Iranian drugs law enforcement capacity. In addition, the UK and Iran are jointly training Afghan border guards in Mashad.
France
Mr. David Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK lorry drivers have been acquitted in France of drug-related matters in each year since 1999. [122872]
Mr. Mullin: We do not record statistics on the points raised by my hon. Friend. It would incur disproportionate cost to provide the information requested. However, our Consulates in France have manually checked records for the last year, and we are aware of one case of a British lorry driver being acquitted in France of drug related charges.
Hong Kong
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had with the Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China regarding article 23 of the basic law of Hong Kong during his visit here. [123023]
Mr. Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed our concerns about Article 23 legislation with the Chinese Foreign Minister on 25 June.
These concerns were outlined in a press statement about Article 23 legislation that I issued on 30 June.