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Iran

Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the outcome was of the International Atomic Energy Agency's board meeting held on 13 September with respect to Iran's nuclear programme; and if he will make a statement. [189940]

Mr. MacShane: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors adopted a Resolution urging Iran to co-operate fully with the IAEA, to implement fully its Nuclear Safeguards Agreement and to clarify all outstanding questions regarding its nuclear programme. The Resolution also regrets that Iran has reversed its decision to suspend the enrichment of uranium. The Resolution goes on to request that the Director-General of the IAEA present a further report on progress in advance of the next meeting of the Board of Governors in November, at which time the Board will again consider what further steps to take in order to persuade Iran to abide by its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The Resolution was adopted by consensus on 18 September. The full text of the Resolution, and the Director-General's report which informed the Board's discussions, is available on the IAEA internet website, www.iaea.org.

Iraq

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will request a full report from the US Government on the alleged attack by US helicopters on unarmed Iraqi civilians on Sunday 12 September in Haifa Street, Baghdad. [189741]

Mr. Rammell: We are aware of reports of civilian casualties as a result of this incident. The US authorities are currently undertaking an investigation. We understand that a US armoured vehicle came under attack. During evacuation of the vehicle's crew, US personnel were injured and helicopter support was requested.

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will request the Iraqi Interim Government to conduct an inquiry into the alleged attack by US helicopters on unarmed Iraqi civilians on Sunday 12 September in Haifa Street, Baghdad. [189742]

 
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Mr. Rammell: We are aware of reports of civilian casualties as a result of this incident. We do not intend to request the Iraqi Interim Government to conduct an inquiry as the US authorities are currently undertaking an investigation. We understand that a US armoured vehicle came under attack. During evacuation of the vehicle's crew, US personnel were injured and helicopter support was requested.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lynne Jones) of 13 September 2004, Official Report, column 1454W, who authorised UNMOVIC and the International Atomic Energy Agency to excise parts of the Iraqi declaration of December 2002; which categories of information were removed; how many pages the excised sections comprise; and whether it was accepted by all UN Security Council non-permanent members that they should receive only an excised version of the Iraqi declaration. [189770]

Mr. MacShane: The decision to excise parts of Iraq's declaration was made by UNMOVIC and the International Atomic Energy Agency, and agreed by the UN Security Council. The excised portion contained information about Iraq's nuclear weapons programme which could potentially be of benefit to non-nuclear weapons states seeking to pursue nuclear weapons programmes. It is not possible to say precisely how many pages of text were excised since the formatting of the excised version was different from that of the original. No member of the Security Council at the time raised any objection to receiving only the excised version of the declaration.

Israel

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government about the treatment of Palestinian prisoners. [189694]

Mr. Rammell: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Dr. Tonge) on 9 September 2004, Official Report, column 1372W. On 2 September the Israeli Prison Service informed our embassy in Tel Aviv that the hunger strike had ended.

We continue to monitor the situation with regard to Israeli treatment of Palestinian prisoners and raise our concerns with the Israeli authorities.

Kosovo

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the forthcoming elections in Kosovo on 23 October. [189885]

Mr. MacShane: On 23 October the people of Kosovo will go to the polls to elect the Assembly of Kosovo for a second term of office. A total of 33 political entities have successfully registered for the elections representing Kosovo Albanian, Kosovo Serb, Turk. Ashkali, Gorani, Roma and Bosniak communities. However only two Serb organisations have registered, with all others boycotting. We continue to urge the Serbian Government to encourage Kosovo Serb participation in
 
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the elections and welcome the support given by President Boris Tadic on 5 October for their participation.

Responsibility for ensuring the elections are conducted in a free and fair manner will be shared between the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the Central Election Commission Secretariat (CECS), a local body. The Council of Europe will provide international monitors to observe the elections. On 8 September, the Council of Europe reported that it was

'largely satisfied with the progress made by electoral bodies in the preparation for the election'.

The full report can be found on the Council of Europe website: www.coe.int/Observation of the elections in Kosovo/Preliminary report CEEOM IV—2004

There are 120 seats in the Kosovo Assembly. 100 seats are distributed amongst all parties in proportion to the number of votes won. Ten seats are allocated to the parties, organisations, citizens' initiatives and independent candidates representing the Kosovo Serb community. The remaining ten seats are allocated to other minority communities. Further information on the Kosovo Assembly elections can be found at www.osce.org.

Poppy Cultivation

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place with the Governments of (a) Afghanistan and (b) Burma regarding (i) poppy cultivation and (ii) progress in controlling the cultivation of poppies since the removal of the Taliban. [189888]

Mr. Rammell: As lead nation on counter narcotics in Afghanistan since April 2002, the UK has had regular discussions and works closely with the Afghan Government to support delivery of the Afghan National Drug Control Strategy, which was adopted in May 2003. I have visited Afghanistan for discussions with President Karzai and his Ministers about progress on the strategy. The UK has allocated £70 million over three years to support this work. As a result of those contacts, in the first year of implementation of the strategy the basic counter narcotics structures have been put in place: drug control legislation, a Counter Narcotics Directorate, the Ministry of Interior's Afghan Special Narcotics Force, the Counter Narcotics Police and a central eradication capability. Work is also in hand to develop alternative livelihoods for farmers dependent on opium poppy cultivation. The measures we have put in place provide a sound basis for future co-operation with the Afghan Government and international partners to secure the further development of robust institutions and programmes to combat opium production and trafficking. Progress remains linked to the wider security situation in Afghanistan and to the implementation of other areas of institution building such as policing and judicial systems.

Burmese opiates are not trafficked to the UK in significant quantities. Most stays within the Asia/Pacific region. Our Ambassador in Rangoon discussed the
 
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reduction of poppy cultivation and other drugs issues with Burmese Ministers during a visit to Northern Shan State in January 2004.

Russia

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with Russia regarding the situation in (a) Chechnya and (b) Ingushetia. [182178]

Mr. Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has discussed the situation in the North Caucasus with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on several occasions since the tragic siege at Beslan in September. Most recently they discussed Chechnya on 22 September, when they met in New York. As in previous meetings, including those during the Foreign Secretary's visit to Moscow in July, they discussed international concerns about the human rights situation in Chechnya. They also discussed the difficult security situation in the region and the need for the United Kingdom and the Russian Federation to co-operate closely in the fight against terrorism.

I also raised the situation in the North Caucasus with the Russian Ambassador when I saw him recently. This followed my substantive discussions with senior Russian officials on this subject during my visit to Moscow on 6–7 April. During my discussions in Moscow, I specifically raised concerns over human rights abuses in Chechnya, and pressed too for progress on the political process there. In addition, I raised the situation in Ingushetia with regard to the conditions for internally displaced persons there.

These exchanges are part of our ongoing, regular dialogue with the Russian Federation on the situation in the North Caucasus.

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