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Written Answers to Questions

Monday 2 July 2007

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Afghanistan: Detainees

Bill Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what arrangements are in place to ensure that UK resident citizens detained at Guantanamo Bay receive regular health checks; and if he will make a statement. [146596]

Dr. Howells: There are no longer any British nationals detained in Guantanamo Bay. However, we continue to raise humanitarian and human rights concerns about those other nationals detained at Guantanamo Bay with the US authorities, including issues relating to detainees who were formerly resident in the UK. In this context, we have recently been told that all detainees at Guantanamo Bay have regular access to medical professionals.

Bill Etherington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the US authorities on securing independent investigations into the allegations of torture and ill-treatment of UK citizens while detained at Guantanamo Bay; and if he will make a statement. [146597]

Dr. Howells: We take all allegations of mistreatment of British nationals abroad very seriously and unreservedly condemn the use of torture.

There are no longer any British nationals detained in Guantanamo Bay. However, we did pursue all credible allegations of abuse regarding those British detainees who were detained there and subsequently released in 2004 and 2005. We pressed the US to examine the allegations. We also raised concerns about issues including isolation, lack of access to daylight and lack of exercise with respect to the British detainees, and secured a number of improvements to their physical conditions of detention.

Arms Trade: Firearms

Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to establish an international treaty to prohibit the sale of small arms. [146613]

Dr. Howells: The Government are committed to leading work to secure a legally binding treaty to set standards for the international trade in conventional arms, including small arms. On 6 December 2006 we secured agreement to start a UN process to take forward this work, with the backing of 153 states. In March we submitted to the UN the United Kingdom's views on the initiative, making clear we envisage a treaty which will allow the responsible sale of small
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arms but will prohibit their sale in certain cases, including where they will be used in the commission of serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law, or to provoke or exacerbate internal or regional conflict.

Commonwealth: International Conferences

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he expects the President of the host country for the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Kampala to exercise the prerogative to extend invitations outside designated member states; and if he will make a statement. [147186]

Dr. Howells: The host of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM) may extend invitations to non-member states in consultation with the Commonwealth Secretary-General and on this basis the Government of Uganda has invited two members of the East Africa Community, Rwanda and Burundi, to the CHOGM in Kampala this November. The Commonwealth Secretary-General is responsible for extending invitations to other international organisations.

Departments: Advertising

Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 14 June 2007, Official Report, column 1216W, on Departments: advertising, what terms and conditions apply to membership of the Know Before You Go campaign and the granting of an entry and logo display on the list of the Department’s campaign partners on its website. [145987]

Dr. Howells: The following terms and conditions apply to becoming a member of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) Know Before You Go (KBYG) campaign and having an entry and logo display on the FCO website:

A potential partner is required to complete an ‘information form’ which the KBYG team uses to assess the applicant’s suitability. The applicant is asked to provide details of the reach of the organisation and relevant customer base; their media spend, the number of communication channels they use and what is their association with one or more of a list of KBYG recognised high risk groups.

If suitable, a potential partner is sent a Partner Framework and Agreement to sign which sets out the following requirements: promoting key messages of the campaign including FCO Travel Advice; encouraging travellers to get adequate and comprehensive travel insurance; informing travellers about preparations they need to make before travelling; informing travellers about the consular assistance they can and cannot receive once abroad.

Furthermore, a partner will have the responsibility wherever possible to promote the campaign to its customers through its own communications initiatives and distribute marketing materials. The partner will also need to have a secure and established website or newsletter, which hosts the KBYG logo and link to the
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FCO website in a prominent position. We also expect where possible the partner to work together with other partners and the FCO on a strategic level to leverage the campaign and where appropriate offer feedback and case studies of campaign activity.

We also request that the applicant operates in accordance with best practice guidelines or codes of conduct, as outlined by relevant industry bodies, trade associations or professional institutions. The terms and conditions make clear that being part of this campaign by no means entitles partners to claim that the FCO endorses their product or services in any way.

Partners are expected not in any way to bring the campaign into disrepute and at the absolute discretion of the FCO partner status can be immediately withdrawn. In such instances the partner agrees to remove immediately all references to the KBYG campaign from its website and literature.

Being a partner in the campaign does not give rise to any payment from the FCO, except where the FCO decides to co-sponsor specific communications activities with particularly relevant partners, for example, the co-funding of a guide to travel safety produced by “Lonely Planet” books and distributed free to younger independent travellers.

Diplomatic Service: Dismissal

Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many foreign diplomats were asked to leave their posts by the Government in each of the last 10 years; what the reasons were for the request; and from which countries' embassies each was expelled. [146121]

Dr. Howells: Information on the number of diplomats that have left their post as a result of a specific request by the Government could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, information held centrally indicates that, from the community of about 24,000 individuals entitled to diplomatic immunity, 28 foreign diplomats have been withdrawn from the UK in the last 10 years after some form of representation from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Details of the missions at which they served and the reasons for their withdrawals are as follows:

1997

1998

1999


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2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

European Union: Constitutions

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he had with his Polish counterpart during the recent conference in Brussels to discuss the new EU constitutional treaty. [146996]

Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Member for Derby, South (Margaret Beckett), the former Foreign Secretary had discussions with counterparts from a number of EU partners during the European Council in Brussels, including the Polish Foreign Minister.

European Union: Treaties

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish a White Paper when the new European Union treaty is available, setting out side by side what the original constitution said and what the new treaty proposes. [147179]

Dr. Howells: The Government will present to Parliament a White Paper setting out their approach to the Intergovernmental Conference.


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The White Paper will set out in detail the changes to be introduced by the proposed “reform treaty”. Once published, copies of the White Paper will be available in the Library of the House.

India: Demonstrations

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on protests by Maoist rebels against the Indian Government in the districts of Bihar, Purlieu, Jharkhand and West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra; and what assessment he has made of the scale of those protests and numbers of fatalities. [146936]

Dr. Howells: Our high commission in New Delhi and the deputy high commission in Kolkata regularly monitor the situation in respect of the Maoist (Naxal) protests in India.

We are concerned about continuing reports in the media of violence and fatalities, but this remains an internal matter for the Indian Government. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described Naxalism as the ‘single biggest’ threat to the country's internal security.

Kashmir: Human Rights

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the United Kingdom will support the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry into violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir; and if she will make a statement. [146110]

Dr. Howells: We remain concerned about all reports of human rights abuses in Kashmir, including allegations of violations perpetrated by the Indian security forces and militant groups. We have welcomed Indian commitments to investigate and curb violations and will continue to call for an improvement in the human rights situation in Kashmir.

Saudi Arabia: Foreign Relations

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Saudi Arabian counterpart on the future of Anglo-Saudi relations. [147002]

Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Member for Derby, South (Margaret Beckett), the former Foreign Secretary met with His Royal Highness Prince Saud Al Faisal at the Lebanon Donor Conference in January and at the Iraq Compact Group in May. Their discussions concerned the continuing close UK/Saudi bilateral relationship, as well as other key regional issues.

Somalia: Peace Keeping Operations

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of India on that country's role in peacekeeping in Somalia. [146860]


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Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Member for Derby, South (Margaret Beckett), the former Foreign Secretary did not made any representations to the Government of India on that country's role in peacekeeping in Somalia.

Vietnam: Oppression

Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has made to the government of Vietnam on the persecution of Christians in that country, with particular reference to (a) Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan, (b) Father Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly and (c) the Hmong people; and if she will make a statement. [146501]

Dr. Howells: We, along with our EU partners have made numerous representations to the Vietnamese government on the arrest and sentencing of Lawyers Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan and Father Nguyen Van Ly.

Most recently, on 15 May, the EU issued a statement expressing its concern about the recent arrests and calling on the Vietnamese government to release all non-violent political activists who have exercised their rights to freedom of expression and association.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Mr. McCartney), the then Minister for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs raised human rights issues at a meeting with Vietnamese Vice Minister Le Cung Phung during the EU/Association of South East Asian Nations Foreign Ministers Meeting on 14 and 15 March and again with the Vietnamese Ambassador on 10 May.

We continue to monitor the situation of ethnic minorities in Vietnam, including the Hmong people, through regular field missions. EU officials, including the UK, raise our concerns about religious freedoms and restrictions with the Vietnamese on a regular basis. Most recently during the EU/Vietnam human rights dialogue on 28 June.


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