| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
21 Apr 2008 : Column 1715W—continued
Indonesia: Human Rights
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Dr. Manfred Nowak, on the use of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by Indonesian security forces in Indonesia and West Papua; whether he plans to make representations to the government of Indonesia on the report's findings; and if he will make a statement. [197732]
Meg Munn: We welcome Dr. Manfred Nowak's visit to Indonesia in November 2007, at the invitation of the Indonesian government. In an address to the UN Human Rights Council on 4 March, the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirajuda, expressed appreciation for the importance of the work of the Special Rapporteurs and undertook to sustain Indonesia's dialogue with them. The report of Dr. Nowak's visit as published to the UN Human Rights Council on 10 March. It notes the considerable progress made in Indonesia since 1998 and the commitment of the current government to uphold and promote human rights. It also raised concerns about torture and ill treatment in places of detention, particularly in the metropolitan areas of Java. We are continuing to study Dr. Nowak's report and are consulting with EU partners on how we might engage with the Indonesian government on its findings. Indonesia is currently participating in a process of Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council. The UK is a member of the UN Human Rights Council and we look forward to a further discussion of Dr. Nowak’s recommendations in due course.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to respond to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Dr Manfred Nowak, on the use of torture by the Indonesian security forces in Indonesia and West Papua. [197843]
Meg Munn: We welcome Dr. Manfred Nowak’s visit to Indonesia in November 2007, at the invitation of the Indonesian Government. In an address to the UN Human Rights Council on 4 March 2008, the Indonesian Foreign Minister, Hassan Wirajuda, expressed appreciation for the importance of the work of the Special Rapporteurs and undertook to sustain Indonesia’s dialogue with them. The report of Manfred Nowak’s visit was published to the UN Human Rights Council on 10 March. It notes the considerable progress made in Indonesia since 1998 and the commitment of the current government to uphold and promote human rights. It also raised concerns about torture and ill treatment in places of detention, particularly in the metropolitan areas of Java. We are continuing to study Dr. Nowak’s report and are consulting with EU partners on how we might engage with the Indonesian Government on its findings. Indonesia is currently participating in a process of Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council. The UK is a member of the UN Human Rights Council and we look forward to a further discussion of Dr. Nowak’s recommendations in due course.
Iraq: Peacekeeping Operations
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many complaints have been received relating to the behaviour of individuals employed by private military companies under contract to the UK Government in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan since 2003, broken down by type of complaint. [198011]
David Miliband: One complaint has been received about the alleged discharge of a weapon by an individual working for a private security company contracted to the Government in Iraq. On investigation the complaint proved to be unfounded as the incident involved a company that had no connection with the Government. No complaints have been received about the behaviour of individuals working for private security companies contracted to the Government in Afghanistan.
Maldives: Elections
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received on participating in an election-monitoring mission to the Maldives in relation to elections expected in 2008; and what plans he has for the UK to do so. [198112]
Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has received no specific representations on election monitoring in Maldives. I refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave on 27 February 2008, Official Report, columns 1704-05W, to the hon. Member for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring) and to my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Andrew Mackinlay) .
Mexico: Foreign Relations
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps the Government have taken to improve the relationship between the UK and Mexico. [199834]
Meg Munn: The UK and Mexico enjoy extensive and growing bilateral relations. Co-operation on climate security, sustainable development and trade are the cornerstones of this relationship. In addition to regular official and ministerial visits in both directions, formal economic and high level political talks are held annually. Mexican Deputy Foreign Minister Lourdes Aranda headed the Mexican delegation at the most recent political talks in London on 1 April 2008 which I chaired.
Michael Shields
Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Bulgaria on a pardon for Michael Shields; and if he will make a statement. [199563]
Mr. Jim Murphy:
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has made no representations to the government of Bulgaria in support of a pardon for Mr. Shields. Consular officials remain in contact with
Mr. Shields' legal team and continue to advise them to pursue those avenues available to them in accordance with Bulgarian legal processes.
Middle East: Armed Conflict
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the UK Government have had any discussions with the prospective candidates for the US presidency on the Israel-Palestine conflict and its humanitarian implications; and if he will make a statement. [198069]
Dr. Howells: The Government, both in London and through our embassy in Washington, discuss a wide range of issues—including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—with the US presidential candidates and their advisers on a continuing basis. Most recently, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister met Senator John McCain on 20 March.
Middle East: Peace Negotiations
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution his Department made to the United Nations Development Programme Trust Fund to support the work of Quartet Special Envoy James Wolfensohn in (a) 2004 and (b) 2005; and if he will make a statement. [198068]
Dr. Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development gave to him on 20 March 2008, Official Report, column 1273W.
The Department for International Development was the main Departmental lead on assistance to James Wolfensohn when he held the role of the Quartet Representative for Gaza disengagement.
Nuclear Disarmament
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received a response from his counterparts in the five Non-Proliferation Treaty nuclear weapons states to the United Kingdom offer to host a technical conference on the verification of nuclear disarmament. [197838]
Des Browne: I have been asked to reply.
My offer to host a conference of scientists from the nuclear laboratories of the five recognised nuclear weapon states was made in a speech to the Conference on Disarmament on 5 February 2008. Since then, senior officials from the Ministry of Defence and Foreign and Commonwealth Office have written jointly to their counterparts in each of the respective capitals describing the offer in more detail. We are waiting for formal responses before making further announcements.
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to make progress on the fissile material cut-off treaty. [197840]
Dr. Howells: The UK considers a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) to be a key priority for making further progress on multilateral disarmament. We will continue to press for the start of negotiations without pre-conditions at the Conference on Disarmament (CD). My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence, spoke to the Conference on 5 February 2008 and highlighted the urgent need for the Conference to redouble their efforts to move forward on a FMCT.
As the holder of one of the six CD presidencies in 2008 we are working with like-minded countries to try to bring about the start of negotiations this year. We will continue to lobby the states which remain opposed to the start of this process.
Pakistan: Politics and Government
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the political situation in Pakistan; and if he will make a statement. [198236]
Dr. Howells: Parliamentary and provincial elections took place in Pakistan on 18 February 2008. The EU Election Observation Mission recognised the elections as competitive. The political parties of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Awami National Party (ANP) with the Jamiat Ulema Islami-Fazlur (JUI-F) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) grouping have formed a coalition government. The National Assembly elected a new Prime Minister, Yusuf Raza Gillani, on 24 March. He was sworn in by President Musharraf on 25 March. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has written to Prime Minister Gillani to congratulate him on his election.
We welcome the statement made by Prime Minister Gillani on 29 March, setting out the priorities for the first 100 days of his coalition government in the National Assembly, announcing measures to combat terrorism, tackle inflation and unemployment, improve media freedoms and strengthen the judiciary. Pakistan faces considerable challenges, not only political, but also economic, developmental, educational and health. We are looking forward to working closely with the new government to help them to meet these challenges.
Pakistan: Religious Freedom
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether he has held discussions with the new government of Pakistan on the treatment of religious minorities and the use of the blasphemy laws; [198237]
(2) if he will urge the government of Pakistan to fully repeal the blasphemy laws. [198238]
Dr. Howells:
The UK strongly supports freedom of religion. We condemn instances where individuals are persecuted because of their faith or belief, wherever this occurs and whatever the religion of the individual or group concerned. Both bilaterally, and together with our EU partners, we have raised our concerns with the Government of Pakistan over the situation of religious minorities, including the excessive punishments prescribed in cases of blasphemy and the frequent abuse of the blasphemy legislation. We will continue to raise the
concerns of minorities with the new Government of Pakistan and encourage reform or repeal of discriminatory legislation through the National Assembly.
Papua
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of the treatment of the population of West Papua by the Indonesian authorities; and if he will make a statement. [197842]
Meg Munn: Our embassy in Jakarta follows the situation in Papua closely and is in regular contact with human rights organisations, non-governmental organisations and academics who provide reports on developments in the region. Embassy staff also visit Papua regularly, most recently from 15-20 February 2008. While there they held discussions with local officials, non-governmental organisations and representatives of religious organisations on a range of issues, including human rights.
We assess that the Indonesian Government are committed to making improvements in the human rights situation as well as promoting wider development efforts in Papua. The invitations from the Indonesian Government to the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilanai, and Professor Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, to visit Papua are encouraging signs of this.
Piracy
Mr. Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance his Department issues to (a) UK-registered and (b) Royal Navy ships operating in or passing through areas where there is a risk of piracy on (i) intervention in and (ii) taking active steps to prevent acts of piracy. [199822]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not issue guidance to UK-registered ships in respect of piracy. This is the responsibility of the Department for Transport (DFT), which relies on data supplied by the International Maritime Bureau, a specialised division of the International Chamber of Commerce, and other sources. The DFT also issues guidance on how ships can take steps to avoid being the object of a piracy attack. The Ministry of Defence is responsible for managing the operations of its own vessels.
Rendition
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government has taken in international forums to raise concerns on the use of extraordinary rendition. [198020]
Dr. Howells: We have cooperated fully with previous investigations by the European Parliament and the Council of Europe on rendition and have informed them of the new information we received from the US on 15 February regarding two cases of rendition through Diego Garcia in 2002. We will continue to cooperate with such international forums on this issue.
Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Statement of 21 February 2008, Official Report, column 547, on terrorist suspects (renditions), which officials are responsible for receiving and administering US requests for permission to use British airports and air bases, including US bases on British territory, for rendition of individuals. [198019]
Dr. Howells: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is the lead Department on rendition policy and officials in its Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) are the designated points of contact for this issue. All UK overseas missions are aware that they must notify CTD of any potential rendition requests from the US or third countries. Our officials continue to work with their US counterparts on the details and implications of the new information passed to us on 15 February regarding two cases of rendition through Diego Garcia in 2002. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has also written to Secretary Rice, further to his statement to the House on 21 February 2008, Official Report, columns 547-48, to request clarification on a number of specific issues and to clarify the appropriate arrangements for any future rendition requests.
Russia: BBC
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has received from the BBC on interruptions and suspensions of the BBC Russian language service in Russia and Kazakhstan. [197665]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The BBC World Service keeps the Foreign and Commonwealth Office fully informed of any interruptions and suspensions of the BBC Russian language service in Russia.
There have been no major interruptions to the BBC's short or medium wave (MW) services in Russia or Kazakhstan in recent years. Since November 2006, the World Service has lost three FM partnerships—with Radio Leningrad in St. Petersburg, with Radio Arsenal in Moscow and with Bolshoye Radio in both cities.
There was a brief interruption to the Moscow MW frequency in early 2007. The BBC understands this was a technical issue related to the operational licence of the MW service provider in Russia. This was rectified and the service resumed.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the closure of FM stations in Russia and Kazakhstan carrying the BBC Russian language service in the last two years. [197666]
Mr. Jim Murphy: The BBC World Service has kept the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and our embassy in Moscow, fully briefed on all FM radio developments in Russia. Since November 2006, the World Service has lost three FM radio partnerships: with Radio Leningrad in St. Petersburg, with Radio Arsenal in Moscow and with Bolshoye Radio in both cities. Since 2000, the BBC World Service has had no FM partnerships with radio stations in Kazakhstan.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |