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EU-Israel Association Agreement

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 October 2004, Official Report, column 31W, on the EU-Israel Association Agreement, what the reasons are for his decision. [192282]

Mr. MacShane: The Government believe that, as a friend of Israel and the Palestinians, we can best exert influence and encourage both sides to take the steps needed for progress through close engagement. However, both sides have so far failed to meet their Roadmap obligations. We do not believe that sanctions against one of the Parties, such as suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, would help bring Israel and the Palestinians nearer to a just and lasting negotiated settlement. We do not therefore intend to call for the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement in response to the International Court of Justice ruling of 6 July.

We recognise Israeli security concerns and Israel's right to defend itself, within the law, against terrorists. We consider the building of the barrier on occupied land to be illegal, and continue to call on the Israeli Government to re-route it. On 20 July we, along with the rest of our EU partners, voted in favour of UN General Assembly resolution ES-10/15 on the legal consequences of building the barrier on occupied land.
 
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European Constitution Referendum

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has made for the eventuality of a no vote in the proposed referendum on the European Constitution. [191893]

Mr. MacShane: Her Majesty's Government are confident the British people will approve the new Treaty following a debate in which the facts are made clear and the myths and misconceptions about it are laid to rest. The EU Constitutional Treaty cannot come into force unless it is approved by all member states. If the UK, or any other member state, were unable to ratify the Treaty, member states would need to meet to discuss a way forward.

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to announce the timetable for a referendum on the European Constitution. [191894]

Mr. MacShane: No decision has yet been taken on the detailed timetable for the referendum on the EU Constitutional Treaty. As the hon. Member is aware, it will take place only after Parliament has had the opportunity to examine the Treaty in detail.

Former Soviet Republics

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place with the governments of (a) Turkmenistan, (b) Tajikistan and (c) Uzbekistan on the smuggling of opium across its borders with Afghanistan; and what steps the Government have taken to assist these countries in securing their borders with Afghanistan. [192056]

Mr. Rammell: The UK maintains an ongoing dialogue with Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan concerning the flow of opiates from Afghanistan.

In addition to bilateral contacts, the UK has supported the Afghan Government in securing agreement to a Good Neighbourly Relations Declaration (GNRD) on counter narcotics through which Afghanistan and her six neighbours have agreed to co-operate and take joint action to stop the flow of opiates from Afghanistan. The UK is also a leading figure in the "Paris Pact" which is a mechanism for co-ordinating activity by all countries affected by drug trafficking from Afghanistan. An HMCE Drug Liaison Officer is based in Tajikistan, with a regional remit, to facilitate improved co-operation on counter narcotics issues.

The UK has an ongoing programme of bilateral and regional assistance for counter narcotics capacity-building with Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Examples of UK assistance include equipment and facilities to secure their borders with Afghanistan, training of law enforcement officials, assistance to develop regional intelligence sharing and co-operation to stop the flow of pre-cursor chemicals into Afghanistan.

Green Ministers

Mr. Horam: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings of the
 
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Ministerial Sub-Committee of Green Ministers were attended by the Department's Green Minister in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04. [190872]

Mr. Rammell: I am a member of ENV(G). It has been established practice under successive Governments not to disclose information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees. This practice is now formalised by Exemption 2 of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Guinea-Bissau

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place with the Interim Government in Guinea-Bissau on the security situation. [192042]

Mr. Mullin: We have been working through our partners in the EU and the UN to help secure stability in Guinea-Bissau. The EU normalised relations with the Government of Guinea-Bissau in July in recognition of progress made towards constitutional order. Following the army mutiny of 6 October, the UN took part in mediation talks with the Government of Guinea-Bissau and mutinous soldiers. A Memorandum of Understanding was agreed and Guinea-Bissau is now calm. The EU has subsequently commissioned a report to assess the security situation in Guinea-Bissau.

Information and Communication Specialists

Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Department spent on outside Information Technology and Communication specialist consultants and engineers in the 2003–04 financial year. [191913]

Mr. Rammell: Expenditure by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on specialist Information Technology and Communication consultants during the 2003–04 Financial Year breaks down as follows:

Administration costs: £11,501,689

Capitalised costs: £11,609,668 (including £9,096,502 in respect of the Department's PRISM management information system project)

These figures do not take account of consultants engaged by individual Posts overseas and paid for from Posts' delegated budgets. Details of such consultancies are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Iraq

Adam Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 1 September 2004, Official Report, column 683W, on Iraq, with which British officials Abdel Basit Turki raised aspects of coalition detention practices; and what specific action was taken as a result. [189891]

Mr. MacShane: The former Iraqi Human Rights Minister, Abdul Basit Turki, raised some general concerns about coalition operations in Iraq in his statement to the UN Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on 16 March 2004. When our Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva met Mr. Turki on 23 March 2004, he did not raise any specific concerns regarding human rights abuses in detention facilities.
 
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Separately, Mr. Turki had told British officials in Baghdad in September 2003 that he was concerned about detention management and conditions. He raised these concerns with the coalition provisional authority and with Ambassador Bremer in December 2003, but we are not aware of the details of these discussions.

On his return to Iraq following the CHR, British officials suggested that Mr. Turki raise his concerns in more detail with US Ambassador Jones (Ambassador Bremer's deputy). A British official was present at this meeting. Mr. Turki's concerns centred on the coalition's failure to control looting after the initial military operation, the negative impact of the US operation in Falluja and allegations of abuse of detainees by US forces. In reply, US officials confirmed that an investigation was underway into allegations of abuse at Abu Ghraib. They asked Mr. Turki to bring any information on abuses to their attention. Mr. Turki was told that the US would not hesitate in bringing those responsible to justice, if allegations of abuse were substantiated.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his oral answer of 28 January 2004, Official Report, column 304, if he will publish the intelligence which has not yet been made public pending the completion of the Iraq Survey Group's work. [192637]

Mr. Straw: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's answer on 28 January referred to the material that was being assembled by the Iraq Survey Group. The ISG Report has now been published. It acknowledged the support given to it by the UK Government. These matters have also been examined during the course of the Butler Review and other inquiries. All relevant information has been placed in the public domain insofar as that could be done without prejudicing national security.

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