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6 Feb 2007 : Column 818Wcontinued
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when weekly monitoring of radiology waiting lists across all trusts in the Province is planned to commence. [119146]
Paul Goggins: My Department commenced weekly monitoring of radiology waiting lists across all trusts in January 2007. This information allows us to monitor not only the number of patients waiting for radiology tests but also the length of time they have been waiting.
I have set a target that no patient should be waiting longer than 13 weeks for any diagnostic test by March 2008. My Department will use the weekly monitoring information described above to ensure that satisfactory progress is made towards this target.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people in Northern Ireland have been prosecuted for benefit fraud on more than one occasion in the last five years. [119343]
Mr. Hanson: A total of nine people in Northern Ireland have been prosecuted for benefit fraud on more than one occasion in the last five years
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will instruct the Deputy Governor of Bermuda to place on the agenda of the defence board proposals to end the disparity of recruitment practices to the Royal Bermuda regiment based on gender. [115098]
Mr. Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has no such plans. Recruitment practices are based on prevailing Bermuda law, and applied fairly within it.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to help protect human rights in Burma. [112563]
Mr. McCartney: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office identifies Burma as a country of concern in our 2006 Annual Report on Human Rights. The Governments policy is to promote full respect for human rights in Burma encouraging rule of law, democracy and good governance, and the freedom of association and speech in accordance with international human rights law.
We have been at the forefront of international efforts over many years to bring pressure to bear on the military regime to re-establish democracy and to respect human rights. We take every opportunity to raise human rights issues with the regime and remind them of their obligations to adhere to international human rights law. Our embassy in Rangoon also delivers capacity building assistance through our Global Opportunity Fund in support of these objectives.
I have raised the human rights situation regularly with the Burmese regime and other Governments in the region. On 16 June 2006,1 called in the Burmese ambassador and on 5 July 2006 I wrote to the Burmese Foreign Minister, highlighting our many concerns. On 18 September 2006, I raised the serious human rights situation with Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) ambassadors, including the Burmese ambassador, and on 4 December 2006 with the ASEAN Secretary-General. I have also raised Burma with the Governments of China, India, Japan, Thailand and South Korea. I have discussed the human rights abuses taking place in Burma with Juan Mendez, the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. I discussed Burma in detail with Ibrahim Gambari, the UN Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, on 15 November 2006, following his visit to the country.
In addition, our ambassador in Rangoon regularly raises human rights with the regime, most recently when he met the Burmese Ministers for Planning and Immigration and the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister on 5 January.
The UK works closely with the EU and other international partners, including the UN and ASEAN, to promote human rights in Burma, and fully supports the efforts of the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Professor Sergio Pinheiro.
We fully support all action in the UN, including in the Security Council, which helps to promote reform and positive change in Burma.
John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what powers the Government have to stop foreign companies from using British overseas territories to channel investment into Burma. [118620]
Mr. Hoon:
Companies operating in a British overseas territory have to comply with the laws of the
territory. All of the British overseas territories have legislation which prohibits investment or the provision of financial services to certain Burmese state-owned enterprises as listed in the annex to the EU common position.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has made to the Government of Burma on the treatment of the Christian community in Burma. [117930]
Mr. McCartney: We have not made recent representations to the Burmese Government specifically about the treatment of the Christian community in Burma.
However, I have raised the human rights situation regularly with the Burmese regime and other governments in the region. On 16 June 2006, I called in the Burmese ambassador and on 5 July 2006 I wrote to the Burmese Foreign Minister, highlighting our many concerns, including the freedom to express religious belief. On 18 September 2006, I raised the serious human rights situation with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) ambassadors, including the Burmese ambassador, and on 4 December 2006 with the ASEAN Secretary-General. I have also raised Burma with the Governments of China, India, Japan, Thailand and South Korea. I have discussed the human rights abuses taking place in Burma with Juan Mendez, the United Nations special adviser on the prevention of genocide. I discussed Burma in detail with Ibrahim Gambari, the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs, on 15 November 2006, following his visit to the country.
In addition, our ambassador in Rangoon regularly raises human rights with the regime, most recently when he met the Burmese Ministers for Planning and Immigration and the Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister on 5 January.
On 24 January, I met representatives from the Chin and Kachin ethnic groups in Burma to discuss the many difficulties faced by their respective communities, including violations of their religious freedoms.
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations her Department has made to the Colombian government on the detention of Samuel Morales and Raquel Castro. [118503]
Mr. Hoon: Our Embassy in Bogota has regularly asked the Colombian Government for information on the legal case against Samuel Morales and Raquel Castro since they were first arrested in 2004. We have impressed on the Colombian authorities that both must be afforded their full human rights while in detention. On 9 November 2006, they were found guilty of rebellion by the criminal judiciary circuit of Saravena and sentenced to six years imprisonment and fined approximately £10,000. The long period of time between the trial and sentencing was due to the large quantity of cases currently overloading the Colombian judicial system.
Human rights are at the heart of our policy. We keep the human rights situation in Colombia under constant review, and regularly raise specific cases with the Government of Colombia.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK (a) embassies and (b) consulates have closed since May 1997. [117906]
Mr. Hoon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has closed eight embassies, five high commissions, and 18 consulates since May 1997. Operations were also suspended at our embassy in Abidjan in April 2005 owing to the security situation there.
During the same period, the FCO opened seven embassies, four embassy offices, one office and six consulates. Three consulates were also upgraded to embassies.
The FCO continuously reviews the deployment of its resources and aligns them flexibly in line with UK interests to the benefit of the British taxpayer.
Details of missions closed since 1997-98 | |||||
April to March | Country | Post name | Status | Closed | Temp closed |
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