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Correspondence

Mr. Salmond: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will reply to the letter of 20 August 2003 from the Member for Banff and Buchan to the hon. Member for North Warwickshire concerning animal welfare and trade liberalisation. [136759]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I apologise for the delay in reply, which was due to an administrative error. The letter has now been transferred to my hon. Friend the Minister for Nature, Conservation and Fisheries (Mr. Bradshaw) on 5 November 2003, who will reply shortly. This should have happened before.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans his Department has made to investigate British companies named in the final report of the UN Panel of Experts on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [136359]

Mr. Timms: I have been asked to reply.

The Government take allegations against UK companies in any UN Panel's report seriously. If we are provided with sufficient evidence that a company has broken UK law, we will take action.

Separately, the DTI, acting as National Contact Point (NCP) for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines, is aware of the Panel's report and potential cases arising from it. The role of the NCP is to facilitate a dialogue between the two parties with a view to resolving the issues raised. In this situation, however, the NCP cannot mediate between the parties as the Expert Panel has disbanded on the expiry of its mandate (31 October). The evidence that has been supplied to the NCP by the UN Panel, after several requests by HMG, is general in content and relates only to some of the named companies. DTI will therefore have difficulty progressing these cases, under the Guidelines, on the basis of what has been provided so far.

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what independent mechanisms exist for the United Nations Panel on the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

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pursue its investigations into the exploitation of the Congo's natural resources; and what the policy of the Government is in relation to the establishment of such independent capability. [137619]

Mr. Straw: The Expert Panel on the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources in the DRC disbanded on the expiry of its mandate (31 October 2003). I am not aware of any other independent mechanisms that exist for the Panel to pursue its investigations.

We have taken the allegations against UK companies in all of the UN Panel's reports very seriously. The report's proposals for preventing the re-occurrence of illegal exploitation are helpful. If we are provided with evidence that a company has broken UK law, we will take legal action. But this latest report fails to substantiate allegations made against UK companies in earlier reports. The evidence that has been supplied to the DTI, the National Contact Point for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines, is circumstantial and general in content. DTI is seeking clarification.

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has received from British-based individuals and companies relating to the release of information about such companies and individuals by the UN Panel on the Democratic Republic of the Congo in its recent report; and if he will make a statement. [137620]

Mr. Straw: The Department of Trade and Industry, acting as the National Contact Point (NCP) for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines on Multi National Enterprises (MNEs), has been approached by three companies named in the final UN Panel report. Details of these exchanges will remain confidential under the provisions of the Guidelines. We are still waiting for evidence to be supplied by the Panel on a number of UK companies named in the report. We will publish a statement on the report once all the evidence has been received by the NCP (DTI) and the necessary next steps have been taken.

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the United Kingdom made to the UN in relation to United Kingdom-based individuals and companies mentioned in the report on the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and if he will make a statement. [137621]

Mr. Straw: The Department for Trade and Industry, acting as the National Contact Point (NCP) for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines on Multi National Enterprises (MNEs), contacted the UN Expert Panel on the illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on three separate occasions, (between April and September 2003), to request information to substantiate allegations made against UK companies and individuals in its earlier reports. The UK Deputy Permanent representative to the UN in New York asked Ambassador Kassem, the chair of the Expert Panel, personally for further

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information on the named UK companies and individuals on 11 March 2003. An official from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office also wrote to Ambassador Kassem on 29 May with the same request. On 6 October 2003, an official from our High Commission in Nairobi contacted the political officer of the Panel to request the information. We continue to take every opportunity to seek to clarify the allegations made against UK companies and individuals.

Guantanamo Bay

Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government are making on behalf of the welfare and human rights of the non-British detainees at Guantanamo Bay. [137001]

Mr. MacShane: The focus of the Government's representations to the US authorities has been on how to resolve the position of the UK detainees held in Guantanamo Bay.

Our hope, however, is that the issues raised will be reflected in the treatment of other countries' detainees.

Middle East

Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 22 October 2003, Official Report, column 617W, on the Middle East, whether Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention is one of the pieces of international law with which he believes the actions of the Israeli Government to be inconsistent. [136739]

Mr. Rammell [holding answer 10 November 2003]: The Government believe that the deportation by the state of Israel of persons against whom no charges have been laid may be inconsistent with the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention, including Article 147.

Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether the US Administration's plans for new low yield nuclear weapons will comply with that country's obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. [137590]

Mr. MacShane: The United States declared a continuing and firm commitment to its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) at the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) meeting earlier this year. In a fact sheet circulated at the PrepCom, the United States further declared that it was not developing, testing or producing any nuclear warheads, that there was no current requirement for a new nuclear warhead, and that it maintained its moratorium on nuclear testing.

Nuclear Weapons

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals the UK will put forward to strengthen the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty at the preparatory conference, Twenty-First session, to be held from 10 to 14 November 2003. [137940]

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Mr. MacShane: The Twenty-First Session of the Preparatory Commission (Prepcom) of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which took place in Vienna from 10 to 14 November 2003, dealt primarily with the 2004 Budget for the Provisional Technical Secretariat. The CTBT has yet to enter into force and the Prepcom has no powers to strengthen the Treaty itself. The UK has always been at the forefront of efforts to maintain the build-up of the Treaty's International Monitoring System. We consider it a priority to ensure that the Treaty's verification requirements can be met at entry into force and will continue to provide appropriate assistance to promote this end.

Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act

Brian White: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what statutory investigatory powers the Department has; which ones will be superseded by use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000; and what plans he has for removing these legacy powers. [136121]

Mr. Straw: My Department has no such investigatory powers.

President Bush (State Visit)

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on what basis it was decided to make the forthcoming visit of President Bush an official state visit. [139412]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: President and Mrs. Bush have been invited to visit Britain as guests of Her Majesty The Queen. This is an opportunity to celebrate the many dimensions of the UK's long-standing relationship with the United States, which includes strong cultural and economic ties and goes much wider than the political relationship. Each state visit is considered on an individual basis, underlining the relationship between the UK and the nation of the visiting Head of State. On this basis, it is appropriate for the visit to be a state visit.

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