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11 Mar 2004 : Column 1703W—continued

Iran

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Iranian Government regarding the closure of the Yas-e-no and Sharq newspapers. [160080]

Mr. Rammell: We have not discussed the closure of these two newspapers in particular. But we have on many occasions made clear our concern at restrictions on free expression in Iran. The Iranian Government's

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failure over recent months to agree dates in early March for the regular meeting of the EU/Iran human rights dialogue has deprived the EU of a channel through which concerns on matters such as this would normally be raised. We regret that Yas-e no remains closed; Sharq reopened on 28 February.

Israel

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the United Kingdom regards Israel as being in the possession of a deployable nuclear arsenal. [159975]

Mr. MacShane: We have regularly made clear that Israel should resolve international speculation about its nuclear programme by acceding to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state and by signing a nuclear safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, thus opening up its facilities to international inspection.

Kenny Richey

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the United States Administration about the case of Kenny Richey. [160165]

Mr. Mullin: 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 might be made on his behalf, and the appropriate time to make them, and will do all we properly can to try to prevent Mr. Richey's execution.

Maldives

Mr. Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the arrests of members of the Maldivian Democratic Party on 13 February by the Maldivian authorities; and on the extent to which human rights are protected in the Maldives. [159859]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We are aware that the Maldivian authorities arrested an unconfirmed number of people in the capital Malé on 13 February in advance of a demonstration planned for 14 February by those sympathetic to the Maldivian Democratic Party. We look to the Government of the Maldives to charge those arrested promptly, in accordance with local law, or to release them. We have concerns about the protection of human rights in the Maldives, including the right of freedom of expression. We will continue to raise these concerns with the Government of the Maldives.

Middle East

Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the Palestinian Authority's policy towards security and terrorism. [159669]

Mr. Rammell: The Palestinian Authority can do more to control Palestinian terrorist groups and improve security for both Israelis and Palestinians. We are in close touch with them about how to achieve this.

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Mr. Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made regarding the Al-Aqsa Brigade and Fatah and responsibility for terrorist attacks. [159945]

Mr. Rammell: We have no reason to doubt the Al-Aqsa Brigades' claims of responsibility for a number of terror attacks. While they proclaim their loyalty to Fatah, we do not judge that these attacks are sanctioned or approved by the Fatah leadership.

Morocco

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of Morocco concerning Ali Salem Tamek. [160187]

Mr. Rammell: Officials and Ministers regularly call upon the parties to the Western Sahara dispute to take action on human rights issues.

We have in the past brought our concerns about the case of Ali Salem Tamek to the attention of the Moroccan authorities. Ali Salem Tamek was released from custody in January 2004. We continue to monitor the situation closely, and will take action with the appropriate authorities where necessary.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the (a) security situation in Western Sahara and (b) impact of Moroccan migration into the territory. [160188]

Mr. Rammell: The UN-monitored ceasefire in Western Sahara has held for over a decade and the security situation remains stable.

Demographic changes in Western Sahara have been a factor in all the proposals on the future of the territory. We continue to urge all parties to engage flexibly with the UN Secretary-General and his personal representative, James Baker III.

Nuclear Materials

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what funding the United Kingdom has provided to the International Atomic Energy Agency's nuclear materials tracking programme in each year since 2001. [159947]

Mr. MacShane: The UK has contributed a total of £750,000 to the International Atomic Energy Agency's Nuclear Security Fund. This has been contributed at a flat rate of £250,000 per annum in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Polisario Front

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent release of Moroccan prisoners of war by the Polisario Front; and if he will make a statement on the Sahrawis that have yet to be accounted for. [160186]

Mr. Rammell: We welcome the recent release of 100 Moroccan prisoners of war by the Polisario front and urge the Polisario to release the 513 remaining prisoners in their custody without delay.

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We have encouraged all parties to co-operate with the International Committee of the Red Cross to account for those missing in the conflict.

Russia

Mr. Simon Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what formal consultation has been undertaken by his Department on the Sakhalin II phase 2 oil and gas project. [158272]

Mr. Rammell: The Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD), under the supervision of my hon. Friend the Minister for Trade and Investment leads on the formal aspects of the consultation process, including on environmental issues. However, due to the role that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office fulfils in supporting export promotion, we have also been closely involved in discussion of this project with the ECGD, DEFRA, UK Trade and Investment and the DTI, as well as Shell.

Tibet

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to meet the Dalai Lama during his forthcoming visit to the UK. [160261]

Mr. Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary intends to meet the Dalai Lama during the latter's visit to the UK.

United Nations

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information has been provided by Her Majesty's Government to the Secretary-General of the United Nations pursuant to paragraph 2 of the General Assembly resolution 58/48; and if he will make a statement. [159418]

Mr. MacShane: The Government have not so far written to inform the UN Secretary-General of the extensive measures which the UK has put in place to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction and related technologies. The Government have, however, included much relevant information in their reports to the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee, available on the UN website at www.un.org.

Mr. Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had on reform of the UN. [160269]

Mr. Rammell: I refer my hon. Friend to my statement on UN reform on 11 September 2003, Official Report, columns 139–47WH, and the "United Kingdom in the United Nations" Command Paper (Cmnd 5898) published in September 2003, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House.

The Government are firmly committed to reform of the United Nations. As an active UN member, the UK conducts regular exchanges with the UN and other member states on reform. We are working to create a more efficient United Nations better equipped to meet the challenges of the modern world and deliver the objectives established in the Millennium Declaration.

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We support the work of the Secretary-General's High Level Panel which is looking into threats to peace and security and the UN response to them.

Visa Applications

Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many visa applications

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to British consulates in (a) Slovakia, (b) Turkey and (c) Croatia were (i) received and (ii) processed in each year since 1990. [159742]

Mr. Mullin: The following table shows figures for the number of entry clearance applications received and resolved in Slovakia, Turkey and Croatia since 1997. Figures for the years before 1997 are not readily available.

		Slovakia			Turkey			Croatia
	Received	Resolved	Received	Resolved	Received	Resolved
1997	401	369	65,056	60,528	841	851
1998	6,082	5,548	67,868	64,865	342	336
1999	22,838	19,700	63,565	46,596	2,435	2,354
2000	22,270	21,436	68,638	64,516	13,490	13,489
2001–02	20,051	18,226	54,086	50,524	13,988	13,892
2002–03	22,419	21,742	63,493	62,326	15,304	15,317

Since 2001, statistics have been collated by financial year (1 April to 31 March) rather than calendar year.

The numbers of applications received and resolved do not always tally. Applications that are recorded as being received in one accounting period may be carried forward for resolution in the next. It is therefore possible to resolve more applications during a period than were received for the same period. Figures show that fewer applications tend to be resolved than received. The method of recording the statistics accounts for this: a mother and three children on one passport may count as four applications received, but only one entry clearance resolved. Also, some applications will be counted as received that are subsequently withdrawn and therefore not counted as resolved.

Visa regimes were imposed on Slovakia on 8 October 1998, on Turkey on 23 June 1989 and on Croatia on 19 November 1999. The visa regime on Slovakia was lifted on 18 December 2003.

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