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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Iraq

15. Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress towards establishing a multilateral authority under UN auspices in Iraq. [137411]

Mr. Rammell: United Nations Security Council Resolution 1511, adopted unanimously on 16 October, reaffirms the responsibilities of the Coalition Provisional Authority, supports an Iraqi-led political process, and resolves to strengthen the vital role of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, as circumstances permit.

23. Ross Cranston: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in recruiting police to serve in Iraq. [137419]

Mr. Rammell: The Home Secretary has agreed to establish a pool of 200 serving UK police officers to sustain a deployment of 100 officers at any one time. A total of 20 officers have been deployed so far.

The focus of the UK effort is on deploying UK officers to train Iraqi policemen in the police academy in Basra and at the Iraqi Police Training Centre being established in Jordan. 24 officers are currently in training for deployment to Basra in mid December. Provision has been made for up to 75 officers to deploy to Jordan in the next few months, with the first group of 26 set to deploy on 23 November and a further 35 in December.

In addition, A British police Officer, Deputy Chief Constable Douglas Brand, is the senior adviser in the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior. Deputy Chief Constable Stephen White of the Police Service of Northern Ireland is

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senior police adviser in the South of Iraq. Rin Shadforth (Superintendent Warwickshire Police Retired) is Deputy Director of the Jordan Training School.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to improve the security afforded to members of the Iraqi Governing Council. [135117]

Mr. Rammell: As part of the Coalition Provisional Authority the UK regularly discusses security with the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) in a weekly committee. This often focuses on security for IGC members themselves. The CPA takes appropriate practical steps to meet requests made by Council members. The UK is unilaterally providing a protected vehicle to the IGC. However in the interests of security it would be inappropriate to give further details.

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what investigations are being carried out to assess (a) the protection afforded to Aquila al-Hashimi of the Iraqi Governing Council and (b) ways in which her assassination could have been prevented. [135118]

Mr. Rammell: We are awaiting the outcome of a police report into the incident. It is not our policy to comment on security measures for individuals.

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to pass control of the Iraqi Governing Council to Iraqi citizens. [136584]

Mr. Rammell: The Government are committed to helping the Iraqis establish a democracy. The timetable for this process is a matter for the Iraqi people. The United Nations Security Council has invited the Iraqi Governing Council to provide, by 15 December 2003, a timetable and a programme for the drafting of a new constitution for Iraq and for the holding of democratic elections under that constitution.

Linda Perham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to reflect the wishes of the various Iraqi ethnic and religious groups in the formation of the new Iraqi constitution. [136585]

Mr. Rammell: The formation of a new Iraqi constitution is a matter for the Iraqi people.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his Answer of 10 September 2003, Official Report, column 335W, how many staff reviewed the UNMOVIC document; what their qualifications were; how many staff hours were spent on the review; when they reported to him on their review; and if he will place the review comments in the Library. [131371]

Mr. MacShane: The UNMOVIC document was the culmination of 18 months of analysis of the final report of UNSCOM and the findings of the Amorim panel which initially reviewed that report. Although primarily the work of UNMOVIC staff, its drafting was overseen by the UNMOVIC Commissioners, a group drawn from 15 countries. The UK Commissioner is a senior member of staff of the Ministry of Defence. Ministry of Defence and Foreign and Commonwealth Office

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officials, together with officials of other interested UK Government Departments, were fully involved in the drafting process. The reviewing of the reliability and robustness of information in the report formed an integral part of producing the final, published version.

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Iraq Government owes to each member of the Paris Club of countries. [136437]

Mr. Rammell: The Paris Club of official creditors issued a press release on 10 July stating that Iraq's debt to members stood at US$21,018 million, all of which results from credits contracted before August 1990. It also noted that adding late interest would roughly double that amount. I am placing a copy of this press release, which includes details of outstanding Iraqi debts owed to all Paris Club members into the Library of the House. It can also be found at http://www.clubdeparis.org/rep upload/030600pr-cleanfinal.pdf.

The UK Government hold unrecovered claims of more than £620 million plus an estimated interest accruing over the past 12 years of around £525 million. These claims result from export credits. Iraq does not have any UK official development assistance debt.

Afghanistan

16. Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the President of Afghanistan on the work in that country of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs. [137412]

Mr. Rammell: Neither my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary nor I have had any recent discussions with President Karzai concerning the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The work of that organisation has now been transferred to the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan, headed by the UN Secretary General's Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi.

The UK continues to work closely with the UN in Afghanistan, and applauds its excellent work to date, including in the humanitarian field where we have witnessed tangible improvements in the past year.

22. David Cairns: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the UN Report, Afghanistan Opium Survey 2003. [137418]

Mr. Rammell: I would refer the right hon. Member to the statement I made on 30 October 2003, Official Report, column 20WS, regarding the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) survey results for the 2003 opium poppy crop in Afghanistan.

While the increase in opium cultivation and production is unwelcome, it is not unexpected. Experience of counter-narcotic policies in other countries, such as Pakistan and Thailand, shows that cultivation tends to increase before declining.

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Israel

17. Mr. Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Israel regarding the erection of the fence on the West Bank. [137413]

Mr. Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, North and Leith (Mr. Lazarowicz), Official Report, 11 November 2003, column 169.

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made by the Government in pressing the Israeli Government to conduct an independent, public and judicial inquiry into the shooting of Mr. Tom Hurndall; and if he will make a statement. [136405]

Mr. Mullin: We have pressed the Israelis on a number of occasions for a full and transparent investigation into the shooting of Tom Hurndall. This was done most recently by my noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean during her recent visit to Israel. We have been recently informed that there will be a military police investigation into the shooting.

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the representations he has made to the Israeli Government regarding the building of the Israeli security barrier. [136434]

Mr. Rammell: My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary made clear our concerns about the route of the fence to the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, when he visited London on 14 July, and the Israeli Foreign Minister, Silvan Shalom, on 18 July. My noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean also raised the matter with the Israeli Foreign Minster, Silvan Shalom, during her visit to Israel on 30 September. She also raised with Zvi Shtauber, Israeli ambassador on 22 October and Yosef Paritzky, the Israeli Minister for National Infrastructure on 29 October.

We have made representations through our embassy in Tel Aviv expressing concern at the route and likely impact of the fence. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have also made representations through the Israeli embassy in London.

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made by the Government in pressing the Israeli Government to conduct an independent, public and judicial inquiry into the fatal shooting of Mr. James Miller; and if he will make a statement. [136484]

Mr. Mullin: We have pressed the Israelis on a number of occasions for a full and transparent investigation into the shooting of James Miller. This was done most recently by my noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean during her recent visit to Israel. We have been informed that there will be a Military Police investigation into the shooting.

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