House of Commons - Foreign Affairs

Consular Enquiries

Consular Assistance

Personal
Callers

Telephone
Enquiries

Post, Email
& Fax

Advice &
Self Help

New Detainee
Cases Contacted

Deaths Requiring
Consular Action

Other
Cases

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs Minutes of Evidence

Annex 7

CONSULAR ISSUES AND STATISTICS

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

Delhi Diwali bombings

On the evening of 29 October 2005 three bombs exploded at market places in New Delhi. The areas were especially crowded with shoppers preparing for the Diwali holiday. Over 60 people were killed and several hundred more were injured.

The key challenge for our consular response was gathering information from a number of locations quickly when the possibility of further attacks could not be ruled-out.

Consular Response

An Operations room was opened in the High Commission in Delhi and staff from across the Mission worked throughout the night to man it. Several teams were sent to the hospitals where the casualties were being taken in an attempt to establish whether or not British nationals had been killed or injured in the attacks.

A dedicated team phoned hotels and hostels in the area of one of the attacks, as it is particularly popular with British backpackers. They went through lists of guests to look for any British nationals who may be unaccounted for. Staff also dealt with a number of telephone and e-mail inquiries from members of the public about friends/relatives.

Travel Advice was immediately amended via the FCO Response Centre.

Follow-up contacts with the Indian authorities, hospitals and hotels over the Diwali weekend allowed us to be satisfied that no British nationals had been directly involved.

Mumbai bombings

On 11 July 2006 in Mumbai, a series of bombs exploded at railway stations or on trains during the evening rush hour. Over 200 people were killed and several hundred injured.

The key challenge for our consular response was in obtaining accurate information on events and possible casualties given the failure of telecommunications networks and the chaos on the street making movement around the city almost impossible. The possibility of further attacks was also a factor.

Consular Response

Staff in Mumbai worked through the night to check those hospitals to which they knew (via direct contact with the police commissioner's office and monitoring of media reports) the casualties were being taken. This was followed-up with hospital visits the following day which allowed us to be satisfied that no British nationals had been directly involved in this crisis.

Pakistan Earthquake

The earthquake struck north of Islamabad in the morning of Saturday 8 October 2005. Initial Pakistani figures of numbers killed quickly rose to over 75,000 during the weekend, with another 75,000 injured.

The key challenges for our consular response included the large number of British nationals resident in Pakistan (80,000); a potentially large number of calls from the British Pakistani population in the UK; the need to coordinate with civil protection and humanitarian responses; and the large area devastated. As the crisis developed, it became clear that the scale of the consular response required was not as large as it could have been. We were the first emergency team on the ground in response to the crisis, helping to save those buried by the rubble, and we have provided one of the most generous aid responses—over £125 million in DFID funding for relief and reconstruction, and £75 million in donations from members of the British public.

Consular Response

We deployed a Rapid Deployment Team (RDT) including consular, press, and technical officers, Red Cross Personnel and International SoS medical personnel. DfID had chartered an aircraft to send search and rescue personnel and other aid to Pakistan; the RDT was able to travel on the same aircraft. UK Search and Rescue teams were among the first to arrive in country and the first live rescues took place within 40 minutes of their arrival—22 hours after the earthquake.

In Islamabad, the High Commission worked on a 24-hour basis immediately after the earthquake. Post activated its Post Emergency Plan and immediately sent two officers to Mirpur, the location of the highest concentration of British Citizens, to assess the risk. A Consular officer was also deployed to Muzzafarabad and a liaison officer was embedded in the Crisis Management Centre of the Pakistan Government.

In London, emergency call handling arrangements were put in place, but we did not receive a huge volume of calls.

Sri Lanka hostilities

The latest outbreak over the summer of 2006 of open hostilities between Government forces and the Tamil Tigers in the North of Sri Lanka, involving mortar attacks and aerial bombing, called for the evacuation of British passport holders from Jaffna.

The High Commission in Colombo worked closely with the Sri Lankan authorities, other diplomatic missions and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to arrange for the safe evacuation of British nationals to Colombo. Over 60 of them and their dependants were evacuated by the ICRC, civilian ferry and by the Sri Lankan military, assisted by our High Commission. The High Commission retained contact with approximately 20 people who remained in the conflict area, pursuing options for the safe evacuation of any who wanted to leave.

CONSULAR ASSISTANCE

Forced Marriage

A forced marriage is a marriage conducted without the valid consent of both parties, where duress is a factor. It is a human rights abuse and a form of domestic violence and child abuse, where children are involved.

The High Commissions in Islamabad, Dhaka and New Delhi handle significant numbers of British nationals forced into marriage abroad. In 2005 these posts helped 169 victims of forced marriage, including children. This pioneering area of Consular work involves assisting and repatriating young women and men who request help to escape a forced marriage. They are usually subjected to emotional and physical pressure from their families, and female victims may face rape, enforced pregnancy and enforced abortions. Victims of both sexes may be kidnapped, abducted and at risk of their lives.

Victims are often held in remote areas, with their money and passport confiscated, and no access to a phone. They may be kept under virtual house arrest. In extreme cases, Consular staff undertake rescues of victims in these situations, with the cooperation of the local authorities.

Consular staff work closely with the Forced Marriage Unit, a joint Foreign & Commonwealth/Home Office Unit, which assists British nationals facing forced marriage, and develops Government policy to tackle this human rights abuse. The Unit also undertakes extensive outreach work around the UK to make potential victims and concerned professionals aware of the help available, and to try to prevent victims being forced into marriage abroad.

In Islamabad the Consular team have pioneered links with NGOs for the support of victims of Forced Marriages. They also actively engage with the Police, civil society and NGOs to improve awareness of the issue locally and regularly collaborate with the media which has drawn international attention to the problem.

CONSULAR STATISTICS

Bangladesh

DHAKA


Consular Enquiries				Consular Assistance
Personal Callers	Telephone Enquiries	Post, Email & Fax	Advice & Self Help	New Detainee Cases Contacted	Deaths Requiring Consular Action	Other Cases

6,832	7,084	12,948	139	12	2	30

India

NEW DELHI


Consular Enquiries				Consular Assistance
Personal Callers	Telephone Enquiries	Post, Email & Fax	Advice & Self Help	New Detainee Cases Contacted	Deaths Requiring Consular Action	Other Cases

4,000	16,095	12,000	12	3	34	362

MUMBAI

CHENNAI


Consular Enquiries				Consular Assistance
Personal Callers	Telephone Enquiries	Post, Email & Fax	Advice & Self Help	New Detainee Cases Contacted	Deaths Requiring Consular Action	Other Cases

1,811	13,650	2,875	125	2	25	300

KOLKATA

GOA

Nepal

KATHMANDU


Consular Enquiries				Consular Assistance
Personal Callers	Telephone Enquiries	Post, Email & Fax	Advice & Self Help	New Detainee Cases Contacted	Deaths Requiring Consular Action	Other Cases

1,700	1,650	900	900	1	2	12

Pakistan

ISLAMABAD


Consular Enquiries				Consular Assistance
Personal Callers	Telephone Enquiries	Post, Email & Fax	Advice & Self Help	New Detainee Cases Contacted	Deaths Requiring Consular Action	Other Cases

20,000	15,300	18,000	654	19	9	149

KARACHI


Consular Enquiries				Consular Assistance
Personal Callers	Telephone Enquiries	Post, Email & Fax	Advice & Self Help	New Detainee Cases Contacted	Deaths Requiring Consular Action	Other Cases

3,625	9,315	750	100	0	1	150

Sri Lanka

COLOMBO