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EU Constitutional Treaty

Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the areas of shared competence within the EU Constitutional Treaty where a unanimous decision of the member states will be required to enable the Union to acquire sole competence. [182965]

Mr. MacShane: Article I-13 of the EU Constitutional Treaty details the areas of shared competence between the Union and the member states. In order for any of these areas to be changed to areas where the Union has exclusive competence, the Treaty would need to be changed. According to the provisions of the EU Constitutional Treaty, these changes would require an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) to be convened. Changes proposed during the IGC would then be subject to unanimous agreement by all heads of all member states in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.
 
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Gibraltar

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the electorate of Gibraltar will vote as part of the United Kingdom in the referendum on the European Constitution. [182824]

Mr. MacShane: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary is sympathetic to the inclusion of the Gibraltar electorate in the franchise for the referendum on the EU Constitutional Treaty, as he stated to the Foreign Affairs Committee on 25 May. As yet, however, the Government have not yet taken a decision and are continuing to consider the matter.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans Her Majesty the Queen has to visit Gibraltar. [182810]

Mr. Straw: There are currently no plans for HM the Queen to visit Gibraltar. HRH the Princess Royal, accompanied by Rear Admiral Laurence, has just completed a very successful visit (28–30 June) in this, Gibraltar's tercentenary year.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the Government's policy is on joint sovereignty with Spain over Gibraltar. [182838]

Mr. MacShane: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) on 16 December 2003, Official Report, column 1417.

Indonesia

Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government has made to the Indonesian authorities (a) to take immediate measures to stop the violence in the Maluku, (b) for them to provide for the safety and security of both communities there and (c) to ensure that the extremist militants behind the violence are brought to justice. [182750]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We share the hon. Member's concern about the violence in Maluku. Our embassy has kept in close contact with UN and NGOs there and is continuing to monitor the situation. On 29 April, the Acting Coordinating Minister for Politics and Security, Hari Sabarno, visited Ambon with the National Police Chief, Da'i Bachtiar and agreed to increase security personnel in order to restore order.

We welcome the Indonesian Government's initiatives to bring peace to Maluku and continue to urge the Indonesian Government to do all they can to ensure the safety and security of communities that have been affected by the violence in the province. We, along with our EU colleagues, last raised this with Dr. Hasan Wirayuda, Indonesia's Foreign Minister, on 18 May. We have consistently made clear our view that long-term solutions to regional conflicts can only be achieved through negotiation and consultation. We fully support the Malino Peace agreement for Maluku, which brought an end to large-scale inter-communal violence.
 
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Iraq

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support he is giving to the new Iraqi Government to ensure the 25 per cent. quota of women is realised in future elections. [181942]

Mr. Rammell: We have worked with the UN Electoral Assistance Mission to Iraq to encourage the Iraqi Interim Government to take concrete measures aimed at realising the 25 per cent. goal. As a result, the electoral law (CPA Order 96) provides that political parties should submit party lists including at least one woman candidate for every three candidates.

We have also encouraged women candidates for political office at both local and national levels to come forward, including through support for women's conferences, such as that held in Cairo in June this year.

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the private UK companies working on the reconstruction of Iraq. [182754]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: We have details of a number of British companies which have been awarded contracts and sub-contracts for reconstruction work in Iraq. However, there is no single and comprehensive list of UK or other foreign companies working there. Although officials work closely with UK industry, British companies are not required to report these details to the Government. Some companies do not want publicity for security reasons. British companies are active in the power, water, banking, ports, construction, telecoms, security, legal services and consultancy sectors. I will write to my hon. Friend separately with the information we have on UK companies with contracts in Iraq.

Mr. Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on the reinstatement of the death penalty in Iraq under the Interim Administration. [183243]

Mr. Rammell: The UK opposes the death penalty as a matter of principle. We have urged the Iraqi Interim Government to abolish it.

Means-tested Benefits

Mr. Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the means-tested benefits available through the Department and the agencies for which it is responsible (a) in May 1997 and (b) now. [182574]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: No means-tested benefits were available to the public through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in May 1997, nor are any available now.

Mr. Brian Savio O'Connor

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government is taking to urge the Saudi Arabian authorities to release Mr. Brian Savio O'Connor, imprisoned and tortured in Saudi Arabia. [182552]

 
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Mr. Rammell: Mr. O'Connor is an Indian national arrested in March this year. The Indian authorities have consular responsibilities for his welfare. We have approached the Indian authorities, and have liaised with other diplomatic missions in Riyadh about this case. However, the reasons for Mr. O'Connor's detention remain unclear. We regularly discuss our concerns about human rights with the Saudi authorities.

Mrs. Siham Qandah

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government is taking to urge the Government of Jordan to ensure that the Christian widow, Mrs. Siham Qandah, is permitted to keep her two Christian children with her and that the attempts to have the children forcibly removed from her custody and converted to Islam are ended. [182553]

Mr. Rammell: This case remains sub judice within the Islamic court system in Jordan. Through our embassy in Amman, we continue to follow the legal process and have again recently drawn the Jordanian authorities' attention to the strong concerns which the case has raised, in the UK and elsewhere, both over the welfare of Mrs. Qandah and her children, and over the underlying principles involved.

Nepal

Mr. Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the ambassador of Nepal to the Court of St. James's in connection with his Government's handling of the Maoist insurgency. [182784]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Officials talk to the ambassador of Nepal regularly about the Maoist insurgency. Most recently, Sir Jeffrey James, the UK special representative
 
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for Nepal, met him on 11 June for a wide-ranging discussion of the way forward following the appointment of the new Prime Minister.

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