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21 July 2008 : Column 865W—continued
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British police officers are to be deployed with EUPOL Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement. [220329]
Dr. Howells: We aim to provide 20 British personnel to the European Security and Defence Policy mission to Afghanistan. As at 17 July 2008, 15 British police officers (five serving and 10 retired) had accepted posts in the mission. We await the outcome of further nominations.
Aghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British police officers were stationed in Kabul at the latest date for which figures are available. [219453]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 17 July 2008]: On 15 July 2008 there were six British police officers (four serving and two retired) working with the Afghan police in Kabul, including officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Ministry of Defence police. Four more officers (three serving, one retired) will deploy later this month.
The Government currently have a total of 84 personnel deployed to work with the police in Afghanistan.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which Government Departments he (a) consulted and (b) involved in the decision to authorise the deployment of British police officers to Kabul. [219630]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 17 July 2008]: The Home Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Northern Ireland Office and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office were all involved in the deployment of police officers to Kabul, in consultation with the Afghan Drugs Inter Departmental Unit which leads on planning for these deployments.
Ballistic Missiles
Sir John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries have made their annual declaration to the Hague Code of Conduct against ballistic missile proliferation for (a) 2006 and (b) 2007. [218467]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 17 July 2008]: There are currently 130 countries subscribing to the Hague Code of Conduct (HCOC) against ballistic missiles. The following 59 countries submitted their annual declarations for 2006:
Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Eritrea, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of), Malta, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Surinam, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, UK, US and Uruguay.
And the following 78 countries have submitted their annual declaration for 2007:
Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of), Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, UK, US and Venezuela.
The above information was obtained from the HCOC Secretariat and was correct as of 10 July 2008.
China: Deportation
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the deportation from China of the British citizen Dechen Pemba. [220270]
Meg Munn: On 8 July Dechen Pemba, a British citizen, was deported without notice from Beijing to the UK by the Chinese authorities. Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials have been in touch with Ms Pemba since her safe return to the UK. Our embassy in Beijing expressed formal concerns to and sought clarification from the Chinese Foreign Ministry on 11 July and repeated their concerns about the deportation at a meeting on 17 July. Senior FCO officials raised concerns about the manner of Ms Pemba's deportation with the Chinese ambassador Madame Fu Ying on 11 July.
China: Human Rights
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps the Government have taken to encourage the Chinese government to promote and protect the human rights of the Chinese people. [219548]
Meg Munn: Engagement on human rights with the Chinese authorities is a Government priority. Our approach includes high-level lobbying to encourage political progress and project work to deliver concrete assistance on the ground. We also use the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue to discuss issues in greater depth. The 16th round took place in Beijing at the end of January. My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary and my noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Lord Malloch-Brown, all raised human rights issues during their respective visits to China earlier this year and we have regularly expressed our concerns about the specific issue of human rights of Tibetans following the unrest in Tibet in March.
Departmental Information Officers
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average cost to his Department was of employing a press and media officer in 2007-08. [215192]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) employs press and media officers in London and in our missions overseas. Locally-engaged staff are recruited and paid locally and have varying terms and conditions of service. We do not hold information centrally on these staff. It is not possible therefore to provide an overall average global figure without incurring disproportionate costs.
Press and media officers employed in the UK and those recruited in the UK but working at our missions overseas are paid in line with all other FCO staff. The average cost to the FCO of a press and media officer in the UK in 2007-08 was £38,813. Those working in London also received a London location allowance of £3,000. This is the average cost of a member of staff working in the grades below the senior management structure (senior civil service).
Diplomatic Service: Manpower
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost of employing a full-time overseas security officer (a) as an employee of his Department and (b) under a private contract; and if he will make a statement. [203483]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office maintains security staff in around 200 locations to provide a wide range of functions, and costs vary due to local circumstances. No global comparison of the cost of direct employees and contractors has been undertaken.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost of the Control Risks contract for the provision of overseas security officers in each year since the contract was let; what mechanisms exist to ensure that value for money is achieved through this contract; and if he will make a statement. [203485]
Meg Munn: The estimated cost of the Control Risks static guarding contract, since it started in October 2003 until the end of the 2007-08 financial year (FY), is £4.09 million:
| Financial year | £ |
The contract was competitively tendered and is subject to continuous contract management and monitoring. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office subjects all contracts to a rigorous procurement process in line with public procurement guidelines and best practice.
Ethiopia: Eritrea
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will hold discussions with the Government of Eritrea on incursions into the international demilitarised area in the border region between Ethiopia and Eritrea. [218654]
Meg Munn: The UK's policy towards the Ethiopia-Eritrea border dispute is based on three principles: to avoid any return to war; for the border to be demarcated; and for the parties to normalise their relations. Ethiopia and Eritrea should agree a way forward to allow demarcation to proceed and for a normalisation process to begin, as set out in the Algiers Agreements of June and December 2000, to which both Ethiopia and Eritrea are signatories.
As part of the above policy, we continue to request Eritrea to remove its forces from the Temporary Security Zone—the demilitarised zone established along the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
My hon. Friend the Minister for the Middle East, Kim Howells, set out this policy to the Eritrean ambassador on 10 July. The UK's policy has equally been conveyed to the Government of Ethiopia, notably by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to the Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin in November and by my noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Lord Malloch-Brown, to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles in January in Addis Ababa.
In addition, Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials continually reiterate these messages to both the Ethiopian and Eritrean ambassadors to London and to their interlocutors in the Governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea in Addis Ababa and Asmara respectively.
Iran: Diplomatic Service
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many staff were employed in the British embassy in Tehran on (a) 30 June 2007 and (b) 30 June 2008, broken down by department; and how many he expects to be employed on 30 September 2008. [219634]
Dr. Howells [holding answer 17 July 2008]: As of 30 June 2007, 26 UK-based staff were employed at our embassy in Tehran in the following departments:
Senior Management (2); Political and Economic (7); Press and Public Affairs (1); Commercial (2); Management and Security (6); and Visa and Consular (8).
As of 30 June 2008, 24 UK-based staff were employed at our embassy in Tehran in the following departments:
Senior Management (2); Political and Economic (6); Press and Public Affairs (1); Commercial (1); Management and Security (6); and Visa and Consular (8).
As of 30 September 2008, we expect 23 UK-based staff to be employed at our embassy in Tehran—an increase of one person in the Political and Economic section, and a reduction of one person in the Visa and Consular section and one person in the Commercial section.
Iran: Nuclear Weapons
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 24 June 2008, Official Report, columns 147-48W, on Iran (nuclear programme), what the evidential basis is for his statement that UN resolution 1803 has been fully implemented. [217391]
David Miliband: The UK is fully implementing all provisions of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1803 (2008). The EU has already banned the supply of dual-use items covered in the resolution. Assets of individuals and entities named in the annex have been frozen by virtue of an Order in Council and the individuals have been added to the visa warnings index. The Export Credits Guarantee Department has stopped processing applications for new export credit cover for Iran. Bank Melli Iran was named as a bank of particular concern in UNSCR 1803. The UK has worked with EU partners to secure the designation of Bank Melli Iran and its subsidiaries and branches at EU level. Following designation on 24 June 2008, all assets belonging to, owned, held or controlled by Bank Melli Iran and Melli Bank Plc in the UK are frozen. HM Treasury issued guidance to financial institutions on 29 February 2008 advising them to take the risk arising from the deficiencies in Iran's anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing regime into account for enhanced due diligence. HM Revenue and Customs has enhanced its compliance and enforcement activity for consignments destined for Iran.
Iran: Sanctions
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions the UN Security Council Committee on Iran sanctions established under UN Resolution 1737 (2006) has received information on alleged violations of measures imposed by Resolution (a) 1737 (2006), (b) 1747 (2007) and (c) 1803 (2008); and what action was taken in each case. [217313]
David Miliband: We are aware that the Committee has received notifications on two occasions. In one case, the state sending the notification requested that it remain confidential while a judicial investigation continued.
In the other case, the Committee discussed information that certain Iranian entities displayed items in the Defence Services Asia Exhibition, hosted by the Government of Malaysia. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was quoted in the media as saying this constituted
“a direct contravention of Resolution[s] 1747 and 1803”.
The Committee also noted, as a result, that the Government of Malaysia closed down Iran's pavilion at the exhibition.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions the UN Security Council Committee on Iran sanctions established under UN Resolution 1737 (2006) has received a request for the sale, transfer or provision of items prohibited under paragraphs 3, 4 and 6 of that resolution; how many such requests have been granted; and on how many occasions such requests have been granted because Iran has stated it will not use such items in nuclear activities. [217314]
David Miliband: No requests for an exemption to the sale, transfer or provision of items prohibited under paragraphs 3, 4 and 6 of UN Security Council Resolution 1737 (2006) have been received.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of breaches of UN sanctions prohibiting the supply, sale or transfer of arms or related material from Iran; and if he will make a statement. [217315]
David Miliband: The UN Sanctions Committee is the appropriate forum for matters relating to breaches of sanctions. The Committee has received two notifications from UN member states covering potential breaches to the supply of weapons from Iran. In one case, the state sending the notification requested that it remain confidential while a judicial investigation continued. In the other case, the Committee discussed information that certain Iranian entities displayed items in the Defence Services Asia Exhibition, hosted by the Government of Malaysia. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak was quoted in the media as saying this constituted
“a direct contravention of Resolution[s] 1747 and 1803”.
The Committee also noted as a result that the Government of Malaysia closed down Iran's pavilion at the exhibition.
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many written reports have been submitted to the UN Security Council following an inspection of cargoes to and from Iran in accordance with paragraphs 11 and 12 of UN Security Council Resolution 1803; and if he will make a statement. [217317]
David Miliband: No reports have been submitted to the UN Security Council following an inspection of cargoes to and from Iran.
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