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Islamabad High Commission

Mr. Sarwar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current status of the high commission in Islamabad; and when he expects it to be fully operational. [137832]

Mr. Mullin: As a result of the security situation in Pakistan our high commission in Islamabad operated for a substantial period with severely reduced staff. This reduced our visa section's capacity to provide a full service. In recent months service levels have increased significantly. Islamabad has handled over 81,000 entry clearance applications so far this year.

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is committed to restoring a full visa operation in Pakistan as soon as is practical. The high commission in

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Islamabad announced on 17 November that it would be expanding the service it offers to include visitors who have travelled to the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America within the last ten years. fiancé(e)s applying to settle in the UK, EU dependants and those applying for family reunion.

The Foreign Secretary will be writing to all members shortly to set out these changes and the way forward in more detail.

Israel/Palestine

Dr. Jenny Tonge To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the UK representative on the UN Security Council abstained in the vote on 14 October on the resolution declaring illegal the Israeli construction of a security wall in the occupied territories of Palestine. [138664]

Mr. Rammell: We did not consider the resolution put to the Security Council on Israel's construction of a fence or wall in the West Bank reflected accurately the situation on the ground. It did not condemn suicide bombings and therefore did not acknowledge Israel's real security concerns. As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said in the House on 14 October 2003, Official Report, column 3–4, we regard the building of the wall on Palestinian land as unlawful, and we have serious concerns about its impact. But we judged that the text before the Security Council would not help implementation of the roadmap, and so we abstained.

The resolution subsequently put to an Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly realistically focused on the fence's negative impact on the peace process and local population. European Union proposals for a more balanced text were accepted in General Assembly negotiations and the UK, with our EU Partners, voted for that resolution.

Dr. Tonge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government concerning the status of Palestinians living between the Green Line and the new security fence in the Occupied Territories. [138673]

Mr. Rammell: My noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean raised our concerns about the "Closed Zone" between the fence and the Green Line on 22 October with the Israeli Ambassador, and on 29 October with the Israeli Minister for National Infrastructure.

The implementation of this order will have grave consequences for Palestinians who live between the fence and the 1967 border, and those who farm land in this area. We are in close touch with the US and other allies to ensure that Israel understands the opposition of the wider international community to the route of the fence.

Japan

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made to the

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Government of Japan about its refusal to subscribe to the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction; and if he will make a statement. [137846]

Mr. Straw [holding answer 18 November 2003]: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office encourages all countries with whom the UK has comity of law to join the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction (1980). We believe this comity of law exists between Japan and the UK and are committed to working with the Hague Secretariat to provide the Japanese Government with the information it needs to come to a decision on membership.

We are working with our partners in the EU to put the case for joining the Hague Convention to Japan. In recent exchanges between the EU and Japan on human right and consular issues, the EU has raised Japanese accession to the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction.

Mr. Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to make representations on behalf of individual citizens of the United Kingdom to the Government of Japan when allegations of child abduction from the United Kingdom to Japan arise; and if he will make a statement. [137847]

Mr Straw [holding answer 18 November 2003]:In cases of child abduction to countries that are not states party to the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction 1980. such as Japan, we advise parents to resolve custody and access issues through the domestic courts in the country concerned, or through mediation.

We would not make representations on behalf of British nationals to the foreign governments concerned as a matter of course, but would consider doing so in exceptional circumstances, for example once the court process has finished, in order properly to enforce the outcome.

Legislative Council of St. Helena

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will arrange to meet the members of the Legislative Council of St. Helena when he is on Ascension Island at the beginning of December. [139119]

Mr. Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 17 November 2003 (UIN:139102).

Middle East

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Israeli Government on the destruction of (a) wells and (b) other infrastructure in Gaza by the Israeli army. [137431]

Mr. Rammell: We deplore the destruction of Palestinian infrastructure and we have asked Israel to cease such activity. We have not recently raised the destruction of wells in Gaza. Nonetheless, my noble Friend the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean called in Israel's ambassador. Mr. Zvi Shtauber. on 22 October to raise our serious concerns about recent Israeli actions in Gaza. Our embassy in Tel Aviv has also raised our concerns with its Israeli interlocutors.

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Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the exchange of Israeli and Palestinian/Lebanese prisoners. [139052]

Mr. Rammell: We are pleased to hear that the Israeli Cabinet has approved a deal on the exchange of Israeli, Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners. We hope that Hizbollah will follow suit, and that this matter is resolved soon.

Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent initiatives have been taken by the United Kingdom to strengthen the provisions of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; and what actions have been taken by the United Kingdom pursuant to obligations under Article 6 of the NPT. [133308]

Mr. MacShane: The United Kingdom believes that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime. We welcome the increased emphasis on the crucial non-proliferation aspects of the NPT that was in evidence at the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) earlier this year and intend to work with other NPT members to strengthen the effectiveness of measures against nuclear proliferation.

We continue to stress the utmost importance of compliance with the Treaty. For example, we urge the DPRK to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme and return to compliance with the NPT. We strongly believe in the need for the universalisation of the treaty, and we regularly call on those states that have not yet acceded to do so whenever we have the opportunity.

The UK also continues to play a full part in the NPT Review process, including most recently in the PrepCom in April and May this year. The UK issued a working paper at the PrepCom on its research into verification of nuclear disarmament and presented the conclusions of this interim study at a seminar during the PrepCom. We anticipate publishing a further paper for the 2004 session of the PrepCom and a consolidated paper at the Review Conference in 2005.

Pakistan

Mr. Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if (a) he and (b) officials from his Department will meet Christian groups in the UK to discuss rights for Christians in Pakistan. [138568]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have regular contact with a range of UK-based NGOs, including those who campaign for the rights of Christians and other religious minorities in Pakistan. Officials will be meeting representatives of groups interested in the position of Christians in Pakistan within the next month.

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