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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights projects in 2002 (a) to establish a dialogue on human rights between the EU and Iran and (b) to strengthen the labour movement in Tunisia; and what his Department's involvement was in each project. [165205]

Mr. Rammell: Decisions about the individual projects funded by the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights are made by the European Commission and local EC Delegations. They are also responsible for managing and evaluating the projects.

The EU Committee on Human Rights and Democracy allocates EU budget resources to projects in third countries and is responsible for evaluating the impact of the fund.

The UK is represented on the Committee by officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the UK Permanent Representation to the EU.

Burma

Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will advocate a strengthening of the EU Common Position on Burma at the forthcoming review. [164199]

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Mr. Mike O'Brien: Prime Minister Khin Nyunt of Burma's State Peace and Development Council announced a "roadmap to national reconciliation" on 30 August 2003. The first step of the roadmap is to reconvene the National Convention to agree a new constitution, as outlined by Foreign Minister Win Aung at the Bangkok Process meeting in December. In light of that, we believe that it would send a wrong signal to strengthen sanctions under the EU's Common Position on Burma at a time when the regime may be moving forward with the political process. We are therefore prepared to support a rollover of existing measures in the EU Common Position on Burma which already contains tough measures against the regime. However, we remain ready to respond proportionately to positive or negative progress in Burma.

China

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions the Government has held with the Chinese government on Tibetan political prisoners. [163679]

Mr. Rammell: I personally raised the case of one Tibetan political prisoner with Assistant Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui in Beijing on 17 December 2003.

Tibetan political prisoners are included on the list of individual cases of concern which we hand over to the Chinese authorities, in the context of our biannual Human Rights Dialogue. The most recent dialogue round was held in Beijing on 10–11 November 2003.

Phuntsog Nyidrol one of the prisoners on our list was released earlier this month.

The EU also includes Tibetans on its list of individual cases.

Cyprus

Mr. Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with political leaders in Cyprus with a view to securing a deal to reunite Cyprus before 1 May. [164191]

Mr. MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met the Foreign Minister of Cyprus at the European Council on 25 March. On 31 March, the Foreign Secretary spoke to the Greek Foreign Minister, who was in Switzerland for the final stage of settlement negotiations. He also recently spoke to the Turkish Foreign Minister. The Foreign Secretary discussed Europe's role in securing a Cyprus settlement in recent meetings with EU Foreign Ministers. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has written to the Prime Ministers of Turkey and Greece, and President Papadopoulos of Cyprus, in recent days.

The Foreign Secretary has made a written statement today on the outcome of the Buergenstock negotiations. With the help of the UN Secretary-General the leaders in Cyprus have peace within their grasp. We are calling on all the people of the island to seize that chance. It will then be for the EU to accommodate the terms of a Cyprus settlement in line with the principles upon which

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the EU is founded. The EU reiterated that commitment as recently as the last European Council on 26 March 2004.

European Constitution

Mr. Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's position is on Article 51 of the draft EU Constitution. [164494]

Mr. MacShane: The Government are content with Article 51 of the draft Constitutional Treaty on the status of churches and non-confessional organisations. The Article reflects the recognition in Declaration 11 to the Treaty of Amsterdam that religion and its structure and organisation in the member states are not areas of Union legislative activity. It also makes it clear that the Union equally respects the status of religious and secular organisations and shall maintain an open transparent and regular dialogue with them. The Government consider that maintaining this dialogue is a normal function of a democratic and pluralist Europe.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will apply to the EU Constitution a European version of the criterion applied to the 1949 Washington Treaty which declared that it should be understandable to a milkman from Omaha. [164543]

Mr. MacShane: If and when an EU constitutional treaty is agreed I will seek to publish a guide to it in plain English that milk persons in Ogmore can understand.

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he expects the negotiations on the European Constitution to restart in the near future. [156778]

Mr. MacShane: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to the hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills (Richard Shepherd) in the House on 30 March 2004, Official Report, column 1415.

Iran and Syria

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made in the past six months of whether the governments of (a) Iran and (b) Syria have given support to terrorist groups. [164368]

Mr. Rammell: The UK Government are concerned that Palestinian terrorist groups may draw support from inside Iran and Syria. We continue to press both the Iranian and Syrian authorities on this and. in Syria's case, on the activities of those groups with a presence in Syria. Separately, we have urged the Iranian Government to take effective action against any members of Al-Qaeda seeking refuge in Iran and the Syrian Government to act to stem the flow of terrorists into Iraq. We and EU partners have made clear that relations with both countries can only develop on the basis of action to address political concerns, including terrorism.

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Iraq

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the Iraqi Governing Council will be different after the transfer of sovereignty; and if he will make a statement. [164085]

Mr. Rammell: The Iraqi Governing Council (IGC) will cease to exist as the embodiment of Iraqi sovereignty (as provided for in UNSCR 1511) after 30 June. As set out in Article 2B(1) of the Transitional Administrative Law agreed on 8 March, it will be replaced by a fully sovereign Iraqi Interim Government. The best way to establish the Interim Government is now under discussion among Iraqis, the IGC and the Coalition Provisional Authority. The UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser, Lakhdar Brahimi is due to return to Iraq soon to take part in these discussions.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what protection is provided for religious communities in Iraq. [164027]

Mr. Rammell: The coalition is working hard to strengthen the Iraqi security and judicial sectors to provide law and order for all Iraqis and to safeguard their rights.

Those rights are laid out in the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) agreed by the Iraqi Governing Council on March 8. A copy of the TAL has been placed in the Library of the House. Article 12 states that

"All Iraqis are equal in their rights without regard to gender, sect, opinion, belief, nationality, religion, or origin, and they are equal before the law. Discrimination against an Iraqi citizen on the basis of his gender, nationality, religion, or origin is prohibited."

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what protection for the role of women in Government there will be in the plans to hand over power to an Iraqi Government. [164088]

Mr. Rammell: The Transitional Administrative Law includes provision for an electoral system designed to achieve a goal of no less than one-quarter representation of women in the Transitional National Assembly to be elected no later than January 2005. The Coalition Provisional Authority is discussing with the Iraqi Governing Council, other Iraqis and the UN how best to achieve this target and to ensure women are strongly represented in the Interim Government to be established after 30 June.

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