Mr. Hayes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his latest assessment is of the state of relations between the UK and Colombia; and if he will make a statement. [273847]
Gillian Merron:
The UK maintains a constructive partnership with Colombia, working with the Colombian Government, international and civil society partners on a number of shared challenges including human rights, counter-narcotics, impunity and climate change.
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave a written ministerial statement on UK policy towards Colombia on 30 March 2009, Official Report, column 40WS, which outlined changes to the way we deliver our objectives in Colombia, including giving priority to tackling impunity in the criminal justice system, and promoting the work of human rights and civil society organisations in Colombia.
Conflict Resolution
Mr. Keith Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the performance of the right hon. Dr Jack McConnell MSP in his capacity as the Prime Minister's Special Representative for Conflict Resolution Mechanisms since his appointment in October 2008. [273825]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 8 May 2009]: The right hon. Jack McConnell MSP, the Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Conflict Resolution Mechanisms has made a valuable contribution to advancing the UK’s peace building objectives since his appointment in October 2008. He has in particular engaged with the UN Secretariat and key stakeholders around the world to press for an ambitious UN Secretary-General report on peace building in the immediate aftermath of conflict.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Security
Mr. Keith Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent assessment is of the security situation in South Kivu; and if he will make a statement. [275316]
Gillian Merron:
Over the last month the security situation in South Kivu has remained tense. Joint operations by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) military and UN peacekeepers against the Rwandan Hutu Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) militia have begun. For the time being, the FDLR continues to pose a serious threat to the civilian population in South Kivu, and to commit atrocities in eastern DRC.
I welcome the effort to apply pressure to the FDLR. We are providing support to help FDLR fighters who wish to leave the organisation to do so. Former members of other militias in South Kivu are entering into a process of integration into the DRC army.
15 May 2009 : Column 1061W
Departmental Mobile Phones
Mr. Hoban:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) BlackBerry devices and (b) mobile telephones have been lost by (i) Ministers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) civil servants in his Department in each year since 2005. [274466]
Gillian Merron:
We do not keep a record of the number of devices lost on a yearly basis.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Mr. Hague:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 27 April 2009, Official Report, column 1032W, on departmental public expenditure, what resource allocation was made for each overseas post for (a) 2007-08 and (b) 2008-09. [272913]
David Miliband:
The following table gives net administration allocations by post for 2007-08 and 2008-09. Programme allocations are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
