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Democratic Republic of Congo

John Barrett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports his Department has received on whether Rwandan troops remain in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [136381]

Mr. Mullin: Since the withdrawal of the Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in October 2002 we have received several unconfirmed reports from a variety of sources about the continued presence of RDF personnel in eastern DRC. The UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) has investigated these reports but has found no compelling evidence to support them. The Rwandan government, with whom we have raised these allegations, have denied they have forces in the DRC.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Moray (Angus Robertson) of 28 October 2003, Official Report, column 184W, on the Democratic Republic of Congo, what reports his Department has received of Rwandan (a) military, (b) financial and (c) political support for armed groups operating within the DRC; and if he will make a statement. [136401]

Mr. Mullin: Since the withdrawal of the Rwandan Defence Force (RDF) from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in October 2002 we have received several unconfirmed reports from a variety of sources alleging continued presence of RDF personnel in eastern DRC and military and financial support for some armed groups there. The UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) has found no compelling evidence to support such reports. The Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratic, RCD-G, were politically allied to Rwanda during the conflict in DRC which preceded the formation of the Transitional National Government in Kinshasa.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mechanisms are available to (a) the Government and (b) the EU to put pressure on Uganda and Rwanda to stop their involvement in the internal affairs of the Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement. [136402]

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Mr. Mullin: From the outset of the conflict we urged all parties to bring an immediate end to hostilities and called for an immediate ceasefire. These calls were incorporated in Security Council Resolutions, EU statements and the EU Common Position on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Ugandan and Rwandan Defence Force personnel were withdrawn from DRC in May/June 2003 and October 2002 respectively.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support (a) the Government and (b) the EU is providing to the Transitional National Government in Kinshasa to enable them effectively to (i) disarm and (ii) demobilise the (A) Interahamwe militia and (B) ex-Forces Armées Rwandaises. [136403]

Mr. Mullin: Disarmament, demobilisation, repatriation, resettlement and reintegration (DDRRR) of the ex-FAR/Interahamwe is crucial to the future peace and stability of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes region and is one of the key tasks of the UN Mission in DRC (MONUC). The UK is contributing $25million over five years to the World Bank's Multi-Country Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme, as well as supporting a wide range of other DDRRR-related and peace-building projects in the DRC, and the Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme in Rwanda.

The UK also supports diplomatic efforts to improve relations between the Governments of DRC and Rwanda, which include looking at how they can work together on tackling the problem caused to both countries by the ex-FAR/Interahamwe. This will help move DDRRR forward.

European Constitution

Mr. Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's policy on extensions of co-decision in the draft Constitutional Treaty in articles concerning the European Union's budget. [136538]

Mr. Straw: As we set out in our White Paper on the IGC, we will seek to ensure value for money for UK taxpayers by working to strengthen discipline and proper accountability in spending from the EU Budget. In this regard, we welcome the European Convention's proposals for a legally binding Multi-Annual Financial Framework and a streamlined annual budget procedure. We also welcome the consensus proposals by ECOFIN Ministers regarding the budgetary provisions of the draft constitutional treaty and we will support these proposals in the IGC.

Kenny Richey

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department intends to make to (a) the Governor of Ohio, (b) the President of the United States and (c) other US authorities in the event that the appeal on behalf of Mr.Kenny Richey to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals is unsuccessful. [136815]

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Mr. Mullin: The Government are opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances. The Ohio authorities are well aware of this. The Governor of the State of Ohio has the sole authority to grant clemency in death penalty cases in Ohio. The President has no role in the legal proceedings in Ohio. We are in touch with Mr. Richey's lawyers both in the USA and the UK. as well as with Ohio state officials. We continue to monitor his case closely to determine what representations we might make on his behalf, and we will do all we properly can to try to prevent his execution.

Richard and Enid Eyeington

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department has (a) offered and (b) given to the Government of Somaliland in their investigation into the murder of Richard and Enid Eyeington; and if he will make a statement. [134723]

Mr. Mullin: Our consular staff in London, Addis Ababa and Nairobi are providing all proper consular assistance to the Eyeington family after this outrageous attack. Staff are also in contact with SOS Kindersdorf International. Our thoughts and condolences are with the family.

We welcome the commitment of the Somaliland authorities to track down the killers. We cannot undertake any direct investigatory work abroad. However, we are discussing with the Somaliland authorities the possibility of a visit by Scotland Yard detectives to assist with the investigation.

St Helena

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to what extent the Government provide air surveillance of St.Helena's 200 mile exclusive fishing zone to determine the number of fishing vessels fishing (a) legally and (b) illegally in this zone. [136972]

Mr. Rammell: The Government do not provide any air surveillance of St. Helena's fishing zone. Both the Government and St.Helena are looking at other methods of control of illegal fishing, including the possibility of using satellite surveillance to identify individual vessels within the 200 mile zone.

United Nations

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the remarks by Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock on identifying terrorism. [135464]

Mr. MacShane: During his address to the UN General Assembly debate on 1 October 2001 our then Permanent Representative, Sir Jeremy Greenstock, remarked that "what looks, smells and kills like terrorism is terrorism". An internationally agreed definition of terrorism would be beneficial and we are working in the UN to achieve one. But so deep is the controversy surrounding certain groups, an internationally agreed definition does not seem possible in the short term. Sir Jeremy Greenstock's formulation

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was a means to unite UN members—at a vital time—around practical steps to counter the threat, rather than on debating the definition of terrorism.

NORTHERN IRELAND

British-Irish/North-South Ministerial Councils

Mr. Peter Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many meetings of the (a) British-Irish Council and (b) North-South Ministerial Council have taken place since they were established; and what additional meetings of each have taken place in other sectoral formats. [121089]

Mr. Paul Murphy: The total number of meetings is as follows:

Institution	Type of meeting	Number of meetings
British-Irish Council	Summit	4
	Sectoral	6
North/South Ministerial Council	Plenary	4
	Institutional	1
	Sectoral	60

The following sectoral meetings have taken place:

Institution	Sector	Number of meetings
BIC	Drugs	2
	Environment	3
	Transport	1
NSMC	Agriculture	7
	Education	4
	Environment	6
	Food Safety and Health	5
	Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission	8
	Inland Waterways	5
	Language	4
	Special EU Programmes	7
	Tourism	5
	Trade and Business Development	7
	Transport	2

Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff are employed in the secretariat of the (a) North-South Ministerial Council, (b) British-Irish Council and (c) Civic Forum; and what the costs are in respect of such staff. [100724]

Mr. Paul Murphy: The information is as follows:

(a) North-South Ministerial Council:

There are 25.5 whole time equivalent staff employed in the Joint Secretariat of the North-South Ministerial Council drawn from the Northern Ireland Civil Service and the Irish Civil Service. The North-South Ministerial Council cannot meet during suspension. The staff employed in the Joint Secretariat are currently engaged in providing administrative support associated with the care and maintenance of the North-South Implementation Bodies, and a range of other duties.

The costs in respect of the staff drawn from the Northern Ireland Civil Service for 2002–03 were £412,929 (latest available figure). This figure includes salaries, travel and subsistence costs.

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(b) British-Irish Council:

The British and Irish Governments provide the Secretariat for the British-Irish Council in co-ordination with officials from each of the other members. In addition to servicing the work of the Council, the officials are involved in carrying out a range of other duties. It is therefore not possible to identify detailed staff numbers and costings in respect of those functions which relate to the Secretariat.

(c) Civic Forum:

Funding for the Civic Forum ceased during suspension. As a result staff in the Civic Forum Secretariat have been redeployed on other duties. At the latest date for which costs are available, the figure for the staff costs of Civic Forum Secretariat for 2002–03 were £158,526. This figure includes salaries and travel costs.

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