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Hizbollah

Mr. Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring is undertaken of the activities of Hizbollah; when its activities were last assessed as terrorist action; and if he will make a statement. [192754]

Mr. MacShane: We closely monitor Hizbollah activities. We proscribed Hizbollah's External Security Organisation (ESO) in 2001 as concerned in terrorism. We continue to press Hizbollah to end its support for violence and to pursue its aims through exclusively legitimate political means.
 
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Iran

Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Her Majesty's Government made to the Government of Iran about the sentence of death awarded to 16 year old Atefeh Rajabi and carried out in public in Neka during August (a) prior to her execution and (b) after her execution; and if he will make a statement. [193062]

Mr. Alexander: We did not receive reports of Ms Rajabi's execution until after it was said to have taken place.

We have raised with the Iranian authorities on many occasions our serious concerns about the use of the death penalty in Iran, including public executions and the execution of juvenile offenders. My noble Friend, the Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, has conveyed the Government's strong concern at Ms Rajabi's reported execution.

Iraq

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his oral statement on Iraq of 12 October 2004, Official Report, columns 151–55, what the information was upon which he and the Prime Minister based their judgements and which he now accepts was wrong. [191796]

Mr. Straw: I refer my hon. Friend to my written statement of 12 October Official Report, column 14WS. My hon. Friend will find further background in The Report on the Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction chaired by Lord Butler of Brockwell, published on 14 July 2004 (HC 898).

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether post-war validation of the source of the UK Government's claim that Iraq sought to procure uranium from Africa after 1998 has taken place. [192517]

Mr. MacShane: The conclusions regarding the Government's claim that Iraq sought to procure uranium from Africa after 1998 are contained in chapter 6.4 of the report of the review headed by Lord Butler of Brockwell.

Mercenaries

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to introduce legislation to (a) make it illegal for UK residents to take part in mercenary activities and (b) make UK companies that recruit mercenaries responsible under UK law for any breaches of human rights or actions that those they employ have committed. [192726]

Mr. Rammell [holding answer 21 October 2004]: The Foreign Enlistment Act of 1870 makes it an offence to engage in military or naval service of "a foreign state at war with any foreign state at peace with Her Majesty." However no prosecution has ever been brought under this legislation and a committee of Privy Counsellors, chaired by Lord Diplock concluded in 1976 that the legislation is probably unworkable.
 
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The growth in the size and importance of the UK private security industry operating overseas strengthens the case for regulation of this sector. Developing such regulation is a complex undertaking, as set out in the Government's Green Paper "Private Military Companies", published on 12 February 2002. There are a number of difficult questions of definition and enforcement in deciding how to approach such regulation. The cost of regulation is also potentially high, for both Government and industry.

When considering regulation the Government recognises that there is a legitimate role for the private sector in providing security in post-conflict situations, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan. National armed forces do not always have the capacity to provide security to the international community's reconstruction and humanitarian efforts in these difficult security situations.

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has instituted a further detailed review of options for regulation over the next few months. The Government will keep Parliament fully informed of its thinking in this area. Consideration of the responsibility of individuals and companies will be at the centre of this review.

Nuclear Disarmament

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the New Agenda Coalition countries about working towards a nuclear-free world. [192702]

Mr. MacShane: The Government regularly include discussions of nuclear non-proliferation in its bilateral contacts with New Agenda Coalition countries. In that context, we make clear that we are fully committed to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) and emphasise the importance of full compliance with the Treaty by all States Party. We also express our desire to see the immediate resumption of substantive work at the Conference on Disarmament, starting with the negotiation of a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.

Syria

Mr. Robert Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on progress on the proposed EU-Syrian Association agreement. [192888]

Mr. MacShane: As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said at his press conference with the Syrian Foreign Minister, Dr. Farouk Shara'a, on 18 October, we are pleased that good progress has been made on the EU-Syria Association Agreement. The agreement was initialled on 19 October.

Turkey

Rev. Martin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart regarding the extent of freedom of religion for religious minorities in Turkey. [193237]

 
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Mr. MacShane: There have been several notable successes for freedom of religion this year in Turkey and the UK believes that the situation of religious minorities in Turkey is improving. The UK Government supports the European Commission's recommendation of 6 October, which called on the Turkish Government to adopt legislation to resolve the difficulties faced by non-Muslim religious communities. Our Embassy in Ankara is in regular contact with the Turkish Government on this issue. My noble Friend the Lord Chancellor and I both raised the need for a new Law on Foundations with the Turkish Justice Minister when he visited the UK in July, and I understand that this is being prepared. We have also urged the Turkish Government to take further steps to facilitate the establishment and running of churches and reopen the Greek Orthodox Seminary on Heybeliada.

Uzbekistan

Mr. Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications of the United States State Department's decision to waive the decertification of Uzbekistan for financial aid on grounds of national interest; and if he will make a statement. [193173]

Mr. Rammell: The waiver, taken on the grounds of the national security interests of the US, was agreed by President Bush in December 2003. It allows Uzbekistan to continue to participate in the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative threat reduction programme, designed to assist the states of the former Soviet Union to secure or destroy WMD and establish safeguards against their proliferation.

This was distinct from the US Secretary Of State's decision not to certify Uzbekistan, which was taken, as the US State Department made clear on 13 July 2004, because of Uzbekistan's lack of progress in meeting its commitments under the Strategic Partnership Framework agreed in 2002 between Uzbekistan and the US.

We have been forthright in our criticism of the Uzbek Government's human rights record. We regularly discuss human rights issues in Uzbekistan with the US. Both the US and UK Governments have a policy of constructive but critical engagement to try to improve the human rights situation in that country.

Visas

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the refusal rate for (a) student visas and (b) tourist visas in 2002–03. [192395]

Mr. Mullin: During the financial year 2002–03 a total of 181,905 student entry clearance applications were received worldwide, of which 52,520, or 28.9 per cent., were refused.
 
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During the financial year 2002–03 a total of 1,428,984 visitor entry clearance applications were received worldwide of which 176,764, or 12.4 per cent., were refused.

Mr. Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the number of refusals of student visa applications between 2001–02 and 2002–03. [192400]

Mr. Mullin: During the financial year 2001–02 a total of 38,873 student entry clearance applications were refused. The equivalent figure for financial year 2002–03 was 52,520. These figures are published in the booklet "Entry Clearance Statistics" for the Financial Year 2002–2003, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.

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