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Lateran Treaty

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to seek amendments to the Lateran Treaty; and if he will make a statement. [57602]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 16 March 2006, Official Report, columns 2461–2462W. It would be for Italy and the Holy See, as the Contracting Parties to the Lateran Pacts, to agree any further amendments.

MI6

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mechanism his Department has in place to identify actions taken by MI6 staff without ministerial approval where such approval is required. [60176]

Mr. Straw: The Foreign Secretary's responsibility for the work of the Secret Intelligence Service is set out in the Intelligence Services Act 1994. There are well established procedures for ensuring compliance with the terms of this and other relevant legislation. It is the longstanding policy of the Government not to comment on operational intelligence matters.

Pakistan

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the Pakistani Government on the consolidated EU national arms export licensing criteria; and if he will make a statement. [59550]

Dr. Howells: Officials hold regular talks with their Pakistani counterparts on a wide range of issues including defence sales, export licensing and the criteria. The last time such discussions took place was in December 2005. The Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria is applied to export licenses for Pakistan on a case-by-case basis.

Poland (Gay Rights)

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the Polish government's stance on gay rights. [59918]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Government are aware of the comments on homosexuality reportedly made by members of the Polish Government. This Government will continue to make the case, at home and abroad, against discrimination in all its forms.

Rafik Hariri

Mr. Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to bring the perpetrators of the murder of Rafik Hariri to justice; and if he will make a statement. [60027]

Dr. Howells: Following the bomb attack on 14 February 2005, which killed 23, including Rafic Hariri, and injured over 200, the United Nations
 
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Security Council adopted Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1595. This mandated the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) to assist the Lebanese authorities in their investigation of this attack, including helping to identify its perpetrators, sponsors, organisers and accomplices. On 15 March, Serge Brammertz issued his first report since his appointment as head of the UNIIIC in January 2006.

The Government remain committed to full implementation of UNSCR 1595, and calls upon all states to co-operate fully and unconditionally with the UNIIIC.

Small Firms

Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what definition the Department uses of a small firm. [59274]

Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) defines a small and medium enterprise (SME) as a firm employing fewer than 250 full-time employees. This is in line with the definition of a SME provided by the Department of Trade and Industry's Small Business Service. The FCO does not differentiate between a small firm and a medium sized firm for procurement purposes.

St. Helena

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much Government funding is directed at promoting tourism in St. Helena in 2005–06. [56822]

Mr. Thomas: I have been asked to reply.

As part of the St. Helena Access project, DFID has recently supported a £65,000 consultancy to update St. Helena's Tourism Strategy. The project also includes up to £3 million to support tourism promotion over the next 10 years.

Outside of the access project, DFID is already supporting tourism marketing through annual budgetary aid to the St. Helena Government. This year, St Helena's budget includes £62,540 for the running costs of the St. Helena Tourism Office, and £250,000 for tourism marketing through the operators of the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) St. Helena, which provides the island's only regular shipping service.

In future, funding for tourism promotion in St. Helena will come from a number of different sources, including the private sector, airlines and government.

Sudan

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Archbishop of Canterbury regarding his recent visit to Darfur. [58819]

Ian Pearson: The Archbishop of Canterbury visited Sudan from 25 February—4 March during which he visited Khartoum and Southern Sudan, including Renk, Juba and Malakal. The Archbishop met with First Vice President Salva Kiir and Vice President Taha, and held an Inter-Religious Council forum on dialogue between
 
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Islam and Christianity. The Archbishop discussed the need for full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and for religious dialogue between Muslims and Christians. Since his return, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had the opportunity to discuss the visit with the Archbishop. However, the Archbishop was accompanied in Sudan by our ambassador in Khartoum, who has reported on the results of the visit.

Syria

Mr. Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to limit Syrian support of (a) Hezbollah and (b) Palestinian Islamic Jihad. [60024]

Dr. Howells: Both at ministerial and official level, we have repeatedly told Syria that it must cease its support for Hizballah and Palestinian rejectionist groups, including Palestinian Islamic Jihad. We continue to highlight the destabilising impact support for these groups has on regional security and the Middle East peace process.

Mr. Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of compliance by (a) Syria and (b) Hezbollah with UNSC resolution 1559. [60026]

Dr. Howells: Further to the second report by the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1559 (UNSCR 1559) on 25 October 2005, the UN Security Council agreed a presidential statement on 23 January, which noted that several provisions of UNSCR 1559 had yet to be implemented, in particular the disbanding and disarming of militias and free and fair Lebanese presidential elections.

The Government would like to reaffirm its support for the full implementation of UNSCR 1559. While the UN has confirmed that Syria has withdrawn its troops from Lebanon, Syria has yet to establish diplomatic relations with Lebanon or to demarcate its border with Lebanon. Syria also has a role to play in stopping arms transfers to Lebanese-based militias, including Hizballah. The UK stands ready to assist the Lebanese Government to implement the outstanding provisions of UNSCR 1559.

We await the next report of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Implementation of UNSCR 1559, which is due on 26 April 2006.

Uganda

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Ugandan Government on the action taken against Dr. Kizza Besigye. [59037]

Ian Pearson: On 7 March our high commissioner in Kampala, along with other diplomatic colleagues, met President Museveni to discuss the elections in Uganda and the ongoing court cases involving Dr. Kizza Besigye.

We expressed grave concern that it appeared the general court-martial (GCM) proceedings against Dr. Besigye were going ahead despite the 30 January Constitutional Court
 
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verdict that this was unconstitutional. We were assured that the GCM proceedings had been suspended pending the outcome of the High Court treason trial, which is currently ongoing.

On 7 March, High Court Judge Katutsi dismissed the rape charges against Dr. Besigye, saying that the prosecution had failed to prove its case.

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