| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
28 Oct 2004 : Column 1386W—continued
Ministerial Meetings
Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) matters were discussed and (b) agreements were made during his meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 19 October. [193513]
28 Oct 2004 : Column 1387W
Mr. Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary-General met for an hour. They discussed Iraq, concentrating on the forthcoming elections and the security situation, Iran's nuclear programme, the situation in Darfur, prospects for the Middle East Peace Process and the Secretary-General's High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, including Security Council reform.
North Korea
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the size of the population of prison camps in North Korea. [193579]
Mr. Rammell: The US Annual Human Rights Report on North Korea, dated February 2004, estimated the prison population of North Korea to be around two hundred thousand. We have no access to any more accurate and reliable figures. We are awaiting a written response from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea authorities on this and other concerns which I raised during my visit to Pyongyang in September.
Oil Sanctions (Sudan)
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has held since March with the Chinese delegation to the UN Security Council regarding Chinese support for a UNSC resolution on oil sanctions against Sudan. [194072]
Mr. Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed the issue with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing by telephone on 20 September.
The UK delegation to the UN in New York has frequently discussed all aspects of the UN Security Council resolutions on Darfur with the Chinese delegation in meetings of the Security Council. This included discussion of what action the UN Security Council could take if the Government of Sudan failed to comply with resolutions 1556 and 1564, such as action to affect Sudan's petroleum sector. Officials have also discussed the issue with the Chinese in London and Beijing.
Egypt
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Egypt about the continued incarceration of (a) William Shaiboub Arsal and (b) Adly Shakir. [193580]
Mr. Rammell: William Shaiboub Arsal was convicted on 5 June 2000 for a double murder and was sentenced to 15 years. He appealed to the Court of Cassation in June 2000. Officials most recently discussed this case with the Egyptian authorities in August 2004 and received assurances that the case is being handled with due process and that an appeal hearing is due to take place later this year.
Officials at our embassy in Cairo followed closely the case of Adly Shakir at the time of his trial and appeal. His sentence was reduced at appeal in 1999 to 25 years. There was no evidence of any departure from the correct procedure in Egyptian handling of the case.
28 Oct 2004 : Column 1388W
We will continue to look into all credible allegations of human rights abuse, and to raise with the Egyptian authorities any cases where there is evidence to support the allegations.
Private Finance Initiatives
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the private finance initiative arrangements in which the Department is engaged; what the total cost of each arrangement is (a) over its lifetime and (b) in each year of its operation; and how the arrangement appears in the Department's public accounts. [193981]
Mr. Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has two private finance initiative arrangements in place:
Provision of a worldwide telecommunications network for a term of 10 years from 10 May 2000. The total estimated value of the contract is £236 million. The present unitary payment charged to the operating cost statement is £25 million per annum. This is an off-balance sheet charge and can be viewed in the FCO 2002–03 Resource Accounts on the FCO website: www.fco.gov.uk
In respect of the building, operation and maintenance of the British Embassy in Berlin for a term of 30 years from 23 June 1998 with an option to extend for a further 30 years. The total estimated value of the contract over its lifetime is £131.5 million. The current unitary payment is £4.5 million per annum. This is mainly an on-balance sheet charge and can be viewed in the FCO 2002–03 Resource Accounts on the FCO website: www.fco.gov.uk
Sustainable Energy (CHP Provisions) Order
Mr. Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures his Department (a) has undertaken and (b) plans to undertake to comply with the Sustainable Energy (CHP Provisions) Order 2003. [194426]
Mr. Rammell: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) purchases 100 per cent. of the electricity used in its King Charles Street Main Building from renewable energy sources. In addition we take heat, when available, from the Whitehall District Heating Scheme (WDHS). We are also discussing with "the Office of Government Commerce Buying Solutions", the possible purchase of electricity generated by WDHS.
The FCO is undertaking a feasibility study of the re-development of its Hanslope Park site in Buckinghamshire to determine the extent to which CHP Provisions can be implemented.
The FCO plans to purchase good quality CHP sourced electricity as it becomes available, provided the Department considers the purchase to be a good value for money option.
28 Oct 2004 : Column 1389W
Turkmenistan
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking to seek to prevent human rights and democracy abuses in Turkmenistan. [194048]
Mr. Rammell: We remain seriously concerned about human rights in Turkmenistan, including the plight of those convicted following the reported coup attempt in November 2002; the harassment of Turkmen opposition figures in exile; the tight controls over the individual freedoms of all Turkmen citizens; the apparent degradation of the education system; the comprehensive restrictions on freedom of expression; and increased evidence of state-sponsored ethnic discrimination. In their submission to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in spring 2004, Human Rights Watch described Turkmenistan as one of the most repressive countries in the world.
Our ambassador most recently lobbied Foreign Minister Meredov on 30 September on a range of human rights concerns, including access to prisoners by the International Committee for the Red Cross and the use of child labour. We have also repeatedly raised reports of discrimination against holders of foreign qualifications, the issue of restriction of religious freedom as well as individual cases, including Rahim Esenov, a 78-year-old author arrested in February 2004 for allegedly criticising the regime. Mr. Esenov was subsequently released in March.
The United Kingdom actively supported the tabling and adoption of country resolutions at the 59th and 60th Sessions of the UN Committee on Human Rights in 2003 and spring 2004. The UK also supported a further country resolution at the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly in 2003. These have noted the limited positive steps by the Turkmen Government and have raised serious concerns about the human rights situation and the absence of democracy in Turkmenistan.
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he will take to urge the Turkmen authorities to co-operate with international human rights organisations. [194049]
Mr. Rammell: The United Kingdom consistently encourages the Turkmen Government to co-operate with international human rights organisations. We supported the tabling of resolutions at the 59th and 60th sessions of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 2003 and Spring 2004 and also at the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly in 2003. We are doing so again at this year's UN General Assembly.
Reinforced by broader international pressure, these Resolutions, have led to some welcome, if limited, signs of increased Turkmen engagement with the international community and human rights organisations. For example, a dialogue is now taking place between the Turkmen authorities and the International Committee for the Red Cross about access to prisons. It is important that this dialogue and other positive indications lead to positive outcomes. Our ambassador lobbied the Turkmen Foreign Minister on this point on 30 September 2004.
28 Oct 2004 : Column 1390W
Following the decision of the Turkmen Government to refuse the extension of ambassador Badescu's mandate as Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabad in July 2004, it was our ambassador as local EU Presidency who delivered the critical EU statement on this matter. On 30 September he reminded the Foreign Minister of the need for positive engagement with the new Head of the OSCE Mission.
With our EU partners and other interested parties, we will continue to encourage Turkmen engagement with international human rights organisations as a necessary step on the road to improving democracy and human rights in Turkmenistan.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |