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Indonesia

Mrs. Anne Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made since the EU's statement at the 59th Session of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in March to encourage the Indonesian Government to comply with its obligations under Security Council Resolution 1410 and allow questioning of those people indicted by the UN's Serious Crimes Unit for the atrocities in 1999; and if he will make a statement. [145353]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: To date we support the work of the Serious Crimes Unit (SCU) and are disappointed that Indonesia has failed to co-operate. We will remain in close contact with the UN, East Timor and other interested countries on what is the best way to meet East Timor's need for justice.

Iraq

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials from (i) his Department and (ii) other Departments have had contact with Mr. Nadhmi Auchi since the conflict in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [142019]

Mr. Rammell: As far as I am aware, Ministers and officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have not had contact with Mr. Nadhmi Auchi since the conflict in Iraq. I am also not aware of any contact between Government Ministers or officials other than Mr. Auchi writing to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on 15 May 2003 to introduce the Anglo Arab Organisation. The Secretary of State acknowledged his letter on 29 May 2003.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Mr. Nadhmi Auchi has advised the Government on aspects of post-conflict Iraq on an (a) informal and (b) formal basis; and if he will make a statement. [142021]

Mr. Rammell: As far as I am aware, Mr. Auchi has not advised the Government on aspects of post-conflict Iraq.

Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the (a) numbers and (b) origins of non-Iraqi fighters opposed to coalition forces in Iraq. [144327]

Mr. Rammell: We believe foreign fighters from a range of countries are present in Iraq. Most, but not all, have probably travelled from other countries in the Gulf, the Middle East and Africa. A smaller number may have travelled from Europe. We have no precise information on the number of foreign fighters currently in Iraq. Since any estimate of the number of foreign fighters would be based on intelligence, under Exemptions 1 and 2 of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, it would not be appropriate to provide further details.

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Mr. Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the full minutes and proceedings for meetings of the International Advisory and Monitoring Board for the Development Fund for Iraq will be published. [145119]

Mr. Rammell: The International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB) held its first meeting on 5 December. According to the Terms of Reference for the Board all minutes of meetings of the IAMB will be made publicly available within 30 days of being finalised by the IAMB. The terms of reference and a press release on the meeting are available on the IMF's website at www.imf.org

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether United Kingdom representatives in Iraq had prior knowledge of the raid on the headquarters of the Iraqi Federation of Workers' Trade Unions on Saturday, 6 December. [145218]

Mr. MacShane: The UK Government have no information about an incident at the temporary headquarters of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions on 6 December 2003. In any case, the UK is not routinely consulted on US tactical operations where UK forces are not involved.

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to provide advice on the security situation in Iraq to UK civilians offered employment there. [145279]

Mr. Rammell: The Government are going to considerable lengths to mitigate and manage the security risks for the British civilians whom they are employing in Iraq. But, for obvious reasons, we do not describe publicly the measures we are taking.

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 9 December 2003, Official Report, column 422W, on Iraq, what information he has collated about the reasons why families of the Iraqi Governing Council have left Iraq since the coalition invasion. [145674]

Mr. Rammell: The reasons why families of Iraqi Governing Council members come and go from Iraq are personal, and a matter for the families concerned. We have not sought to collate information on their movements.

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to visit Iraq. [146223]

Mr. Rammell: Foreign engagements for my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and other Ministers are kept under constant review. It is not practice to announce such visits until they are firm. Because of the unpredictable nature of world events, final decisions on overseas visits are often not possible until very shortly before the day of travel and occasionally not until they are under way.

Kashmir

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his (a) Indian and (b) Pakistani

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counterpart concerning the alleged police killing of two civilians near the Jehum Valley Hospital in Srinagar, Kashmir; and if he will make a statement. [145292]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: I was concerned to hear of the death of two civilians during a gun battle between the security forces and militants in Srinagar on 14 December 2003. Ordinary people have had to pay a heavy price in the continued violence in Kashmir. While I have not raised this specific issue with the Indian and Pakistani Governments, we regularly urge both sides to work together to resolve their differences, including over Kashmir.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had since 4 November with representatives of the Governments of (a) Pakistan and (b) India on progress in dealing with the Kashmir situation. [145293]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: During my visit to Pakistan from 9 to 12 December 2003, I met both President Musharraf and Foreign Minister Kasuri. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister met Prime Minister Vajpayee on 6 December 2003 during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Abuja. During our discussions with both Governments, we warmly welcomed the recent confidence-building measures, including the ceasefire on the Line of Control in Kashmir. We also encouraged both Governments to make sustained efforts to address each other's concerns and to pave the way for a process aimed at settling all their outstanding differences, including the issue of Kashmir. We very much hope that the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation Summit in Islamabad on 4 to 6 January 2004 will enable all the countries of South Asia to take forward their ideas for further regional co-operation.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what confidence-building programmes are (a) funded, (b) supported, (c) proposed and (d) initiated by his Department aimed at resolving the Kashmir situation; and if he will make a statement. [145294]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The British Government fully support the Governments of India and Pakistan in their efforts to improve their relations. We have warmly welcomed the recent confidence-building measures taken by both Governments, including the ceasefire along the Line of Control. Through our Global Conflict Prevention Pool, we fund a variety of activities encouraging contact between India and Pakistan and promoting public debate on reducing conflict in the region. We will continue to encourage both Governments to sustain their efforts to address each other's concerns and to pave the way for a process aimed at settling all their outstanding differences, including the issue of Kashmir.

Middle East

Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what influence the United Kingdom is exerting on the US Administration to urge it to make representations to the Israeli Government on the subject of the security wall. [144382]

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Mr. Rammell: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Strathkelvin and Bearsden (Mr. Lyons) on 16 December 2003, Official Report, columns 797–98W.

Official Receptions

Mr. Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on the serving of beer at official receptions. [145777]

Mr. Rammell: At official functions organised by the Government Hospitality Section of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office beer is served to guests should it be requested.

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