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Maldives

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of respect for human rights in the Maldives. [160668]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: In December 2003, the Maldives established a Human Rights Commission to protect, promote and preserve human rights in the Maldives. Officials from our high commission in Colombo called on the chair of the commission in January, and expressed to him our concern about reports of human rights abuses in the Maldives. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and are considering with our European partners what further action we might take.

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations between the EU and the Maldives. [160670]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: EU Heads of Mission in Colombo maintain a close interest in the Maldives and many visit regularly. Interest has been heightened in the light of recent events and the reports of human rights abuses.

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the current (a) bilateral treaties, (b) agreements and (c) protocols between the British Government and the government of the Maldives. [160671]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The UK has three such agreements with the Maldives: a 1953 Agreement on the Protection of the Islands; a 1976 Exchange of Notes terminating a 1965 agreement relating to military access; and a 1996 Agreement concerning air services.

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the current Government advice is to British citizens in respect of (a) bilateral trade with and (b) tourism in the Maldives. [160672]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Advice on trade issues is usually tailored to meet particular needs of individual British companies considering business in the Maldives. Travel advice for the Maldives, produced by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), is available on the FCO website: www.fco.gov.uk. Tourists are advised that while most visits are trouble free, they should take care of their valuables and other personnel possessions. We also draw attention to the fact that possession of drugs carries severe penalties and that public observance of a religion other than Islam is prohibited.

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British citizens visited the Maldives in 2003 (a) on official business, (b) on commercial missions and (c) on holiday. [160673]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The total number of foreign visitors to the Maldives in 2003 was 563,593, according to Maldivian Government Statistics. We do not have figures either for British visitors, or for the purposes of visit.

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on behalf of prisoners at Maafushi Island Prison in the Maldives. [160675]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Since their formation in exile in November 2003, the Maldivian Democratic Party has raised, with Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials, human rights issues, including the condition and treatment of prisoners in Maafushi Island Prison.

Project Funding

Mr. Colman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many (a) solely state-financed and (b) public-private partnership and private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible have been launched in each of the last 10 years; [160975]

(2) how much was spent by (a) the Government on solely state-financed projects and (b) the (i) the Government and (ii) private sector on public-private and private finance initiative projects for which his Department is responsible, in each of the last 10 years. [160976]

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Mr. Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) major capital investment projects cover Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and our Estate. The value of these, and details of major new contracts let on the estate are captured in the FCO annual Departmental Reports. Copies of which are available in the Library of the House. The values are summarised in the following table.

Long term capital projects

	Nominal costs	Estimated provision
2003–04	ICT	36,240
2003–04	Estate Building Projects	35,900
	Total	72,140
2002–03	ICT	49,447
2002–03	Estate Building Projects	50,500
	Total	99,947
2001–02	ICT	42,400
2001–02	Estate Building Projects	54,600
	Total	97,000
2000–01	ICT	32,730
2000–01	Estate Building Projects	72,886
	Total	105,616
1999–2000	ICT	31,799
1999–2000	Estate Building Projects	65,494
	Total	97,293
1998–99	ICT	29,601
1998–99	Estate Building Projects	46,080
	Total	75,681
1997–98	ICT	24,285
1997–98	Estate Building Projects	51,045
	Total	75,330
1996–97	ICT	10,947
1996–97	Estate Building Projects	57,761
	Total	68,708
1995–96	ICT	18,337
1995–96	Estate Building Projects	94,436
	Total	112,773
1994–95	ICT	(3)—
1994–95	Estate Building Projects	(3)—
	Total	(3)—

⁽³⁾ Data not available

Source:

Appendix—Departmental Report

We have had only two PFI projects in the last 10 years:

(i) The construction of a new Embassy in Berlin in 2000, with a capital value of £17.1 million,

(ii) The FCO Telecommunications Network in 2001, with a capital value of £73.9 million.

Data by region and numbers of projects can be provided only at disproportionate costs.

Serbia and Montenegro

Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports of claims by the UN War Crimes Tribunal that indicted Bosnian Serbs may be resident in Belgrade; what steps he has taken to establish the

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veracity of these claims; and what representations the UK has made to the Government of Serbia and Montenegro on this issue. [161209]

Mr. Rammell: We cannot confirm that Karadzic and Mladic are in Belgrade. It is essential that all countries in the region co-operate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and that Serbia and Montenegro do more to help bring indictees to justice.

The UK, with the international community, continues to press for the transfer of Karadzic, Mladic (and Gotovina) to the Hague. They should surrender or the countries of the region should find and arrest them.

Sudan

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of Sudan on the effects of its military action on civilians in Darfur. [160927]

Mr. Mullin: We are in almost daily contact with the Government of Sudan and the various Darfur groups about the situation in Darfur and the effects of military action on civilians there. We have raised our concerns at the highest levels in Khartoum, and both our ambassador and the UK special representative for Sudan have recently discussed the matter with the First Vice-President. We are urging the government to negotiate a cease-fire, facilitate humanitarian access to all those in need, and resume talks to find a peaceful solution to Darfur's problems.

Venezuela

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what communications his Department has had with the Government of Venezuela following the recent violence in Caracas. [161017]

Mr. Rammell: Following the demonstrations in Caracas on 27 February 2004, the British Ambassador has called on the President of the Supreme Court, Dr. Ivan Rincon, the Minister of Energy and Mines, Mr. Rafael Ramirez and the Fiscal General, Dr. Isaias Rodriguez. The United Kingdom is fully aligned with the EU statement on Venezuela issued on 4 March 2004, calling on all parties involved in the Venezuelan political process to work towards a democratic and peaceful solution to the crisis.

Western Sahara

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an assessment of fishing in the Western Sahara; and what discussions he has had with the Moroccan authorities on the threat of over-fishing. [160124]

Mr. Rammell: The EU has on several occasions held discussions with Morocco on fishing since the expiry of the EU Morocco Fisheries Agreement on 30 November 1999.

We have had no recent bilateral discussions with Morocco regarding fishing.

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