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Genocide Convention

Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what obligations the signatories to the Genocide Convention are required to fulfil in a situation where genocide is taking place. [199504]

Mr. Rammell: Under Article 1 of the Genocide Convention 1951, the Parties undertake to prevent and punish the crime of genocide whether committed in time of peace or war. Under Article 5, they undertake to provide effective penalties for persons guilty of genocide or genocide-related crimes, and Article 6 provides that persons charged with such acts shall be tried. In addition, in Article 7, the Parties 'pledge themselves . . . to grant extradition' in cases of genocide or genocide-related crimes.

Guantanamo Bay

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK citizens (a) are held and (b) have been held in each year since 2001 in Guantanamo Bay; and if he will make a statement. [200251]

Mr. Mullin: Eight British nationals were transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2002 and one in 2003. Five were released and returned to the UK in March 2004. There are currently four British nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay.

The Government's position has been clear. The British detainees should either be tried fairly in accordance with international standards or they should be returned to the UK. Discussions are continuing on the situation of the remaining four.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of (a) the conditions in which detainees are held at Guantanamo Bay and (b) the prospects for detainees at Guantanamo Bay receiving a fair trial; and if he will make a statement. [200252]

Mr. Mullin: British officials have made nine welfare visits to the British detainees at Guantanamo Bay, most recently in October.

Detainees are housed in indoor accommodation with individual sleeping, toilet and washing facilities and air-ventilation. They are able to practise their religion and have access to reading and writing material. The detainees and their families can send letters to each other. Our visits have found that medical facilities at Guantanamo Bay are of a high standard.

We have had concerns about the conditions of detention of some of the British detainees, which we have actively pursued with the US authorities. We have secured improvements to the conditions in which they have been held. We continue to pursue outstanding issues.

I also refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him today (UIN 200251).

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK citizens detained at Guantanamo Bay have had their cases reviewed by the Combat Status Review Tribunal; and if he will make a statement. [200253]

 
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Mr. Mullin: The US has established a Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) process to determine whether Guantanamo Bay detainees are properly classified as enemy combatants and to permit each detainee the opportunity to contest this classification. We are following the progress of the CSRTs and are monitoring the British detainees' cases. We understand that the CSRT for Mr. Abbasi has been completed with the conclusion that he is an enemy combatant.

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to meet his new US counterpart to discuss UK detainees held at Guantanamo Bay; and if he will make a statement. [200254]

Mr. Mullin: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to him today (UIN 200251).

My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has had frequent discussions with his current US counterpart, Colin Powell, including on the British detainees in Guantanamo Bay. This dialogue will continue with the new US Secretary of State, Ms Condoleezza Rice, once she is confirmed in her position by the US Congress.

Haiti

Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the UN peace-keeping mission in Haiti reaches its full complement of 6,000 troops as soon as possible. [199749]

Mr. Rammell: The Government work to support an effective UN mission in Haiti and continues to take an active part in Security Council discussions on Haiti to ensure deployment of sufficient personnel and the best use of resources. There has been considerable progress since the establishment of the mission—particularly with recent troop deployments I refer my hon. Friend to the UN Secretary-General Report S2004/908 of 18 November, available on the UN website: www.un.org. There are currently 4,732 total uniformed personnel serving in the UN Mission in Haiti, including 3,769 troops and 963 civilian police, supported by 258 international civilian personnel and about 300 local civilian staff.

The Government place great importance on ensuring the placement of qualified and trained personnel in the UN Mission in Haiti. In September 2004, representatives of the Metropolitan Police Service provided training assistance to policemen from the Chinese Republic for their deployment in Haiti. The trainers focussed specifically on understanding and practical application of the Rules of Engagement to ensure that the Chinese contingent would have the requisite skills for effective work on the ground. Ninety-five Chinese riot police were deployed on 17 October, representing their first ever police deployment abroad.

The UK also works to support deployment of trained personnel to all UN missions. We currently have 447 military personnel and 115 civilian police officers deployed to UN operations. In addition we support capacity building of the UN through the Government's WUN Strategy*, an £8 million programme under the joint DFID/MOD/FCO Global Conflict Prevention Pool to enable the UK to run training courses to develop
 
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the skills of trainers and to support specific training exercises for countries that provide or are seeking to provide peacekeepers for UN missions.

Ms Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Government have made in the UN to ensure that disarmament in Haiti takes place effectively and involves all communities. [199750]

Mr. Rammell: The Government place great importance on Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDK) in all peace support operations. We worked to ensure that the mandate establishing the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) focused on DDK. Resolution 1542 (30 April 2004) tasked MINUSTAH to 'assist the Transitional Government, particularly the Haitian National Police with comprehensive and sustainable DDR programmes for all armed groups, including women and children associated with such groups, as well as weapons control and public security measures.'

This emphasis on DDR continues to be crucial. The Government are currently involved in consultations concerning the recent UN Secretary-General's report S/2004/908 of 18 November, available on the UN website: www.un.org and the mandate renewal for MINUSTAH. In these discussions, we continue to emphasise the importance of effective DDR, including the urgency of establishing a National Commission.

The Government also support UN capacity building on DDR. This year the Government are providing over £150,000 for a project which aims to develop a comprehensive set of common and integrated policies, guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures, as well as Headquarter and field planning mechanisms and tools for the planning and conduct of DDR in a peacekeeping context.

Iraq

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what definitions he uses of (a) terrorists and (b) insurgents in relation to Iraq; what his latest estimate is of the number of (i) terrorists and (ii) insurgents operating in Iraq; how many of those (A) terrorists and (B) insurgents operating in Iraq he estimates are (1) not Iraqi citizens and (2) from a foreign country; how many (x) terrorists and (y) insurgents have been (X) killed and (Y) captured in Iraq since major combat operations ended on 1 June 2003; and if he will make a statement. [200495]

Mr. Rammell: There is a definition of terrorism in the Terrorism Act 2000 and there are also widely accepted definitions of insurgency. A large number of different groups involved in violence in Iraq fit into both categories or move between the two. It is impossible to come to a precise figure for the number of terrorists and insurgents currently operating in Iraq. We continue to believe that a sizeable number come from foreign countries. The Ministry of Defence report that in the region of 6,500 individuals have been detained by the UK since March 2003. They were either detained as a prisoner or interned war or for imperative reasons of
 
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security. There are no reliable figures for the number of terrorists and insurgents killed in Iraq since the end of major combat operations on 1 May 2003.

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the requirement that information received from allied intelligence and security agencies should not be disseminated further without the consent of the originator was not applied to the Butler Review with regard to the sharing of the intelligence on the claim that Iraq sought to procure uranium from Africa. [201259]

Mr. Straw: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave her on 17 November 2004, Official Report, column 1552W.

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