---

24 Apr 2006 : Column 860W—continued

Chad

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreignand Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation in Chad; and what discussions he has had with representatives of the rebel army. [64991]

Ian Pearson: The Chadian army defeated attacks on N'Djamena and Adre by rebel groups on 13 April. The United Nations Security Council condemned the attempt to overthrow the Government of Chad by force and called on the parties to resolve their political differences by negotiation.

We are concerned about the current political and security situation in Chad not only for the safety and security of Chadian and any remaining UK nationals, but also for the impact of an extended conflict on over 200,000 refugees from Darfur, now sheltering in camps in Eastern Chad. Our non-resident Ambassador to Chad met the Chadian Foreign Minister in N'Djamena on 4 April and made clear that the UK expects Chad to do its utmost to reduce tensions on the border with Sudan.

Chad is due to hold presidential elections on 3 May 2006. The UK is working with EU partners to urge the Chadian authorities to ensure a peaceful and credible electoral process in which all parties can participate.

Ministers have had no discussions with the rebel groups. A representative of one of the rebel groups has initiated limited contact with our Special Representative to Darfur.

China

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the government of China since 2002 about the implementation of the Population and Birth-planning Law 2001; what response was received; and if he will make a statement. [65259]

Ian Pearson: The Government have not had any discussions with the Chinese government about China's right or need to implement family planning policies, as set out in the Law on Population and Birth Planning. However, we remain concerned about reports of enforced sterilisation and abortion in China. We believe that China's family planning policies should be based on the principle of consent, and not coercion, as espoused
 
24 Apr 2006 : Column 861W
 
by the International Conference on Population and Development. We will continue to raise our concerns where this is an issue, both in our bilateral contacts and with EU Partners.

Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of China since 1997 about trends in its population; what response he has received; and if he will make a statement. [65260]

Ian Pearson: China's population trends impact on a wide range of policy areas, including social security, pension planning, migrant workforces and poverty alleviation. We take due account of these trends in our discussions of policy issues with the Chinese Government. Although the Government have never questioned China's right or need to implement family planning policies, we have raised concerns about reports of enforced sterilisation and abortion. Where appropriate, we will continue to broach this subject with the Chinese authorities on a bilateral basis and in conjunction with EU partners.

Cuba

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreignand Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Government of South Sudan on the presence of Lord's Resistance Army militia in Cuba. [64920]

Ian Pearson: The UK continues to stress the importance of tackling the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in its discussions with the Government of Southern Sudan. Close co-operation with the Ugandan and Congolese Governments is crucial, as is full support for effecting the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for five senior LRA commanders. The importance of the ICC process was emphasised by our ambassador in Khartoum in a meeting with Salva Kiir, President of the Government of Southern Sudan, at the end of 2005.

Democratic Republic of Congo

Mr. Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made regarding the recent arrest of Bria Mackosso and Christian Mounzeo in the Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement. [64815]

Ian Pearson: We understand that Bria Mackosso and Christian Mounzeo were arrested following accusations of misappropriation of funds from the human rights organisation founded by Mr. Mounzeo. Local non-governmental organisations and media have strongly criticised the arrests as irregular and politically motivated. The human rights situation in the Republic of Congo remains poor, with limited freedom of expression. The UK takes seriously the protection of human rights and their defenders. We have raised our concerns about these arrests with the Republic of Congo Embassy in Kinshasa. We will continue to monitor the case.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make an assessment of the human rights situations pertaining in
 
24 Apr 2006 : Column 862W
 
the Democratic Republic of Congo, with particular reference to the treatment of human rights activists in Katanga province. [64917]

Ian Pearson: The human rights situation across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remains poor. Congolese civilians, particularly in eastern DRC, continue to suffer abuses committed by militias, foreign armed groups and ill-disciplined and poorly-controlled Congolese army soldiers.

The UK is committed to the protection of human rights and human rights defenders across the DRC. Ending the climate of impunity remains a high priority. We are in regular contact with United Nations and non-governmental organisation teams working in Katanga who keep us updated on the human rights situation there. The imminent arrival of troops temporarily transferred from the UN Mission in Burundi should help to deter future abuses. And, with international community partners, we have told the Congolese Government that we hold it responsible for the abuses committed by its own soldiers, including in Katanga. President Kabila has promised that his Government will take positive action.

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the decision of President Yoweri Museveni to send Ugandan troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo. [64632]

Ian Pearson: The Ugandan Government have raised concerns about the threat posed to regional security by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), some of whom are believed to be in the Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Ugandan Government have said that if Uganda is attacked over the border from DRC by the LRA, Ugandan forces would respond. But we are not aware that President Museveni has taken a decision to send Ugandan troops to the DRC.

We agree that the LRA are a threat to regional peace and that those commanders facing International Criminal Court arrest warrants need to be brought to justice. But in signing the Lusaka (1999) and Luanda accords (2002), Uganda undertook to withdraw its troops from the DRC and to stay out.

The international community has emphasised the need for the DRC's territorial sovereignty to be respected in a number of UN Security Council Resolutions. In recent weeks my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, Gareth Thomas, and Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in Kampala and New York have all underlined to the Ugandan Government the UK's opposition to any unilateral Ugandan military interventions in the DRC.

Departmental Leave (Stress)

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many people have been on sick leave suffering from stress in his Department in each of the last three years; and what percentage of the total staff number this represents. [63556]

 
24 Apr 2006 : Column 863W
 

Mr. Straw: Although sick absence information is recorded on our computerised Management Information system, we do not currently have a method of extracting the specific reason for absence. In order for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to obtain this data, it would require all sickness absence records to be manually checked for the last three years. This would be both time consuming and incur disproportionate costs. Therefore, we are developing a customised report to enable us to analyse the data by absence type. My officials will write to the hon. Member as soon as the figures are available.

Foreign Policy Centre

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what role his Department has in appointments to the advisory council of the Foreign Policy Centre. [63248]

Mr. Straw: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no role in appointments to the Foreign Policy Centre's Advisory Council.

---