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Burma (IDPs)

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the number of internally displaced persons in Burma; and if he will make a statement. [64491]

Ian Pearson: It is estimated that there are at least 540,000 internally displaced persons in Burma, though detailed information is hard to obtain. We are aware of renewed large-scale displacements in northern Karen State. In addition to this, there are approximately 500,000 refugees in neighbouring countries. We continue to monitor the situation closely.

Falun Gong

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the treatment of Falun Gong prisoners in China; and what representations the Government has made to the government of China about the alleged practices at the Chinese Sujiatun camp. [64059]

Ian Pearson: We regularly raise human rights with the Chinese government, including the treatment of individual Falun Gong practitioners. Individual Falun Gong cases were raised with the Chinese government at the last round of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue in October 2005.
 
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The Government have seen no evidence to substantiate the reports circulating about the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in Sujiatun camp. We have not made representations to the Chinese government about these reports. However, I raised concerns on 7 April with the Chinese government about the general practice of organ harvesting from death row prisoners and the trade in their organs.

The Government welcome the announcement by the Chinese Ministry of Health of a new regulation to come into effect on 1 July, to ban the sale of organs and introduce medical standards for organ transplants.

Foreign Policy Centre

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what purposes his Department provides funding to the Foreign Policy Centre; and how much has been provided in each year since 1997. [63247]

Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has not provided any funding to the Foreign Policy Centre in this period. We define 'funding' as payments made to an organisation which are not in respect of goods or services that the organisation has or will be providing to the FCO, but are instead made to support the organisation in its work.

A number of payments have been made to the Foreign Policy Centre during this period, but all such payments have been for goods and/or services provided by this organisation. The following payments over £100 were made:

		£
2003	Consultancy Work	8,125
2003	Organising Consular Seminar	10,060
2003	Consultancy work for the Community Relations Unit	26,300
4 April 2004	Glasgow Discussion Sheets for Partnerships and Networks Development Unit (now UK Outreach)	2,500
7 July 2004	Part payment for organisation of a meeting at Ditchley Park	35,000
15 September 2004	Part payment for organisation of a meeting at Ditchley Park	35,000
27 January 2005	Chinese New Year Event List for Partnerships and Networks Development Unit (now UK Outreach)	3,950
29 January 2005	Africa List for Partnerships and Networks Development Unit (now UK Outreach)	3,950
25 February 2005	Part payment for organisation of a meeting at Ditchley Park	23,095
13 April 2005	Welsh List for Partnerships and Networks Development Unit (now UK Outreach)	3,950
30 October 2005	Contribution to the cost of design and production of 1,500 "Europe in a Global Age" pamphlets	1,615
17 March 2006	Payment for organising a foreign policy seminar	26,950

France (Rioting)

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had discussions with the French Government about the recent riots. [64318]

Ian Pearson: No.

General Ratko Mladic

Mr. Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the recent disclosure by the government of Serbia, that Serbian intelligence and army officials conspired to conceal the movements of General Ratko Mladic; and if he will make a statement. [64492]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: We have noted the public disclosure from the Supreme Defence Council in February, based on a military security service report, that elements of the Serbia and Montenegro military had sheltered Mladic until June 2002. The UK expects all those involved in sheltering Mladic to be fully investigated and prosecuted. Full co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia remains a fundamental requirement for Serbia and Montenegro to move closer to Euro-Atlantic integration.

Guatemala

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of (a) human rights and (b) the rule of law in Guatemala. [64510]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Human Rights situation in Guatemala has improved since the signing of the Peace Accords in 1996, following 36 years of conflict. However, we continue to be concerned by the growth of organised crime, the activities of gangs, called maras,
 
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and widespread impunity which threaten the rule of law in Guatemala. We are also concerned by attacks on human rights defenders and the increase in violence against women.

Our Embassy in Guatemala City works closely with human rights organisations and will continue to press the Guatemalan authorities to implement in full the 1996 Peace Accords, investigate reports of human rights abuses thoroughly and tackle impunity.

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the likelihood of bringing to justice those responsible for mass killings in Guatemala in the 1980s; and if he will make representations to the government of Guatemala on this matter. [64511]

Mr. Douglas Alexander: The signing of the Guatemalan Peace Accords in 1996 brought an end to 36 years of conflict. The Peace Accords provided a blueprint for the Guatemalan authorities to pursue a process of social reforms, including the capacity to bring those responsible for human rights abuses to justice.

Though we have noted the progress made by the Guatemalan government in implementing the Peace Accords, that progress is slow and there is still much to be done. Many perpetrators of human rights violations continue to escape justice due to a weak judicial system.

The United Kingdom will continue to encourage the Guatemalan government to implement in full the 1996 Peace Accords, which covers improvements to the Guatemalan Judicial System. We will continue to monitor the efforts made by the Guatemalan authorities to bring those responsible for human rights violations to justice.

Holy See (British Ambassador)

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who the British ambassador to the Holy See was in each year since 1983; what relevant specialist qualifications the present incumbent holds; and what the details of his career are to date. [64209]

Ian Pearson: Since 1983, the British ambassador to the Holy See has been:

1982–1985	Mark (later Sir Mark) Heath
1985–1988	David Lane
1988–1991	John Bradley
1991–1995	Andrew Palmer
1995–1998	Maureen MacGlashen
1998–2002	Mark Pellew
2002–2005	Kathryn Colvin
2005 to date	Francis Campbell

The ambassador to the Holy See needs to be a high-calibre individual, with proven political and strategic awareness, diplomatic and interpersonal skills, have an in-depth knowledge of Government, be able to deal with complex issues, be able to build effective and lasting relationships and be able to communicate in Italian and French to a high standard.
 
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The present ambassador's particular knowledge and understanding of the mechanics of Government, his background in diplomacy, his experience outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), his work with faith organisations and civil society in the UK and internationally make him ideally placed to promote and develop the UK's International Priorities with regard to the Holy See. The details of the ambassador's career are:
Curriculum Vitae

Full name	Mr. Francis Martin-Xavier Campbell
Date of birth	20 April 1970
2005	Senior Policy Director, Amnesty International
2003–2005	1st Secretary, British Embassy to Italy
2001–2003	On secondment to No. 10 Downing street as Private Secretary to the Prime Minister
1999–2001	On secondment to No. 10 Downing street as Policy Adviser to the Prime Minister
1998–1999	European Enlargement Unit, FCO
1997–1998	On secondment to the European Commission— appointed to the EC Delegation at the UN in New York for the UK Presidency of the EU
1997	European Enlargement Unit, FCO
1996–1997	University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (MA)
1994–1995	Katholieke University of Leuven, Belgium (MA)
1989–1992	Queen's University Belfast (BA)

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