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22 Oct 2009 : Column 1608W—continued
Burma
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness against objectives of EU sanctions on Burma. [294540]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Following the sentence imposed on Aung San Suu Kyi on 11 August 2009, the EU put in place further sanctions intended to specifically target the Burmese regime's economic interests, as well as imposing a travel ban on those members of the judiciary responsible for the verdict. These measures came into force on 14 August 2009. The fact that new EU trade and investment is negligible is an indication of the success of this policy.
Moreover, these sanctions leave the regime in no doubt about our determination to see real democracy established and human rights respected in Burma. Their objective is to target those individuals and entities that are most closely linked to the regime's misrule, rather than punishing the Burmese population as a whole.
Burma: Arms Trade
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what UK policy is on proposals for a UN arms embargo on Burma; and if he will make a statement. [294673]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Following the verdict in the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister wrote to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Security Council members calling for a voluntary, global arms embargo against Burma.
The EU and the US have had an arms embargo in place for many years. A UK attempt to secure a non-binding Security Council resolution in 2007 was blocked. We will however continue to work through the UN, the EU and bilaterally to put maximum pressure on the Burmese regime.
Burma: Human Rights
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of recent proposals for a UN Commission of Inquiry into human rights violations in Burma; and if he will make a statement. [294674]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: We are aware of several calls for the establishment of a commission of inquiry to investigate human rights in Burma. While there are a number of ways by which such a commission could be established, all would require a level of international consensus on Burma that is not presently achievable.
In the past two years, our efforts have helped to secure unprecedented UN Security Council action on Burma, in the form of two strongly worded Presidential Statements. We are also active in pursuing strong resolutions in both the Human Rights Council and at the General Assembly. We fully support the efforts of UN Special Rapporteur, Tomas Quintana. His work on human rights abuses in Burma is crucial to holding the regime to account and we have urged the Burmese authorities to grant him the necessary access.
Burma: Politics and Government
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent of human rights violations in eastern Burma in the last 12 months; and what representations he has made to the Burmese Government on this matter. [294539]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The UK is deeply concerned about the human rights situation in eastern Burma and reports earlier in the year of renewed fighting between the Karen National Union and the Democratic Karen Buddhist army, who are supported by the Burmese army.
Attacks carried out by the Burmese army and their Karen client organisations on civilians in Karen State have been particularly intense in the last two years. We have repeatedly called for a halt to such offensives and have urged both the military regime and the Karen National Union to intensify their efforts to find a peaceful settlement that will bring about a permanent end to the conflict.
On 11 June 2009, the Czech Presidency of the EU issued a statement calling for an end to the hostilities. It expressed particular concern about the humanitarian impact of the conflict. We fully support this call and our embassy in Rangoon continues to monitor the situation closely. Our embassy most recently raised human rights issues with the Burmese authorities on 18 October 2009.
Chagos Islands
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to publish in full his Department's response to the European Court of Human Rights on the application made by the Chagos Islanders. [294108]
Chris Bryant: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my noble Friend, the then Minister for Europe, Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead on 12 October 2009, Official Report, House of Lords, column WA3. Copies of the Government's observations on the application have been placed in the Library of the House.
Children: Kidnapping
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding has been allocated to his Department's Child Abduction Unit in each of the last five years. [294383]
Chris Bryant: A dedicated Child Abduction Section was set up in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Consular Directorate in 2003 in response to the growing number of parental child abduction cases. There are currently five staff in the section. In addition to staff costs, the following funding amounts were allocated to projects over the last five financial years:
| (£) | |
| (1) Current year (2) There was no specific funding allocation for Child Abduction Section | |
China: World Expo
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 July 2009, Official Report, column 1259W, on the Shanghai World Expo, when he expects to finalise plans for ministerial attendance at the event. [294382]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Government are fully committed to Shanghai Expo 2010, which offers the UK a unique opportunity to advance our very broad objectives in China: from trade and industry to climate change, science and technology to tourism, and education to financial services. Plans for ministerial attendance during the six months of the Expo will be decided upon nearer to the opening in May 2010.
Cyprus
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received representations on the recommendations of Georgios Lordos on a possible property settlement in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [293701]
Chris Bryant: The Government have received no such representations.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what research his Department has evaluated into the number of Greek Cypriots who in respect of a settlement in Cyprus would wish for (a) restitution, (b) compensation and (c) property exchange; if he will consider the merits of allocating funds to such research; and if he will make a statement. [293702]
Chris Bryant: The Government have made no such evaluation.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the merits of relinquishing the UK's commitment under the Treaty of Guarantee for Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [293707]
Chris Bryant: The leaders of the two communities are continuing to discuss the issue of security and guarantees. The UK will not be an obstacle to a solution.
Cyprus: Green Line
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of people who have crossed the Green Line in Cyprus since 30 April 2008; and if he will make a statement. [293704]
Chris Bryant: The Government have not estimated this information. However, according to figures provided by the Republic of Cyprus and published in the European Commission's Green Line Report, 730,310 Greek Cypriots crossed from the south to the north of Cyprus and 1,287,126 Turkish Cypriots crossed from the north to the south of Cyprus during the period 1 May 2008 to 30 April 2009:
The same source reports that a further 739,097 non-Cypriot EU citizens and third-country nationals crossed the line during this period.
These figures do not include border crossings within the UK's Sovereign Base Areas, for which data are not collected.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on the (a) volume and (b) monetary value of cross-Green Line trade in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [293705]
Chris Bryant:
The Government do not collect any information on the volume or value of cross-Green Line trade in Cyprus. However, according to figures provided by the Republic of Cyprus and published in the European Commission's Green Line Report, the
total value of goods that crossed the Green Line was €6,111,030 from 1 May 2008 to 30 April 2009, compared to €4,473,408 for the previous reporting period:
Cyprus: Northern Cyprus
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what (a) recent discussions he has had with (i) the government of Cyprus and (ii) the administration in northern Cyprus and (b) recent assessment he has made of implementation of confidence-building measures in Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [293708]
Chris Bryant: The Government follow the Cyprus settlement question very closely and have frequent discussions both with the Government of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot leadership on this topic. They support confidence building measures as an important means of developing trust between the two communities. A number of measures, for example on ambulance crossings and restoration of cultural heritage, have already been implemented. We hope to see further confidence building measures being implemented in the coming months.
Cyprus: Turkey
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his most recent estimate is of the number of settlers from mainland Turkey who are resident in the north of Cyprus who took residence in that region (a) following the invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and (b) since the referendum in 2004; and if he will make a statement. [293697]
Chris Bryant: The Government have made no such estimate.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department holds on the (a) volume and (b) monetary value of trade between Turkey and Cyprus; and if he will make a statement. [293706]
Chris Bryant: The Government do not hold any information on trade between Turkey and Cyprus. The most recent publicly available figures are from the Turkish Foreign Trade Under-Secretariat in 2007. Exports from Turkey to the Republic of Cyprus (RoC) equalled US Dollars ($)1.394 million, and imports from RoC to Turkey equalled $8,615 million. Volume of trade equalled $10.01 million.
Democratic Republic of Congo
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in the UN Security Council on the implementation of UN Resolution 1820 in Democratic Republic of Congo; and what recent progress has been made on such implementation. [294542]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The UK is a key supporter of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1820, which deals with the issue of sexual violence in conflict situations. We work hard to mainstream its provisions into the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC). It is referred to in MONUC's mandate, due for renewal in December 2009.
The UK recently co-sponsored UNSCR 1888 (revision of 1820 on women and armed conflict). In addition, the UK continues to push for legal action against five senior Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) commanders accused of committing sexual violence, named by the UN Security Council during their visit in May 2009.
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of Democratic Republic of Congo on the prosecution of allegations of gender-based violence by members of the Congolese armed forces; and if he will make a statement. [294543]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Our ambassador in Kinshasa has repeatedly called for members of the armed forces guilty of human rights abuses to be brought to justice. The UN Security Council, including the UK permanent representative, raised this issue in May with Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Kabila and DRC Prime Minister Muzito. Kabila gave a speech to the nation on Independence Day in June this year, promising renewed efforts to ensure "total security" for the population, including ending sexual and gender-based violence.
Military courts in Rutshuru have since prosecuted several cases against some Congolese national army (FARDC) officers for crimes including rape. The UK continues to push for legal action against five senior FARDC commanders accused of committing sexual violence, named by the UN Security Council during their visit. We will continue to stress the importance of ensuring the implementation of the UN Mission to the DRC (MONUC)'s policy of withdrawing support from FARDC units implicated in serious human rights abuses.
Democratic Republic of Congo: Internally Displaced Persons
Mr. Keith Simpson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate has been made of the number of people who have been
displaced in Democratic Republic of the Congo as a result of the activities of the Lord's Resistance Army since the beginning of 2009; which countries have received such people; and if he will make a statement. [294536]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: According to a recent report by the UN Secretary General, 226,000 people have been displaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as a result of the activities of the Lord's Resistance Army since the beginning of 2009.
We are aware that many displaced people from the DRC have moved to South Sudan. We are also aware that some refugees may have fled to Uganda and the Central African Republic.
We strongly condemn the atrocities committed by the Lord's Resistance Army in the northern DRC and throughout the Great Lakes Region of Africa. They have committed appalling human rights abuses against the civilian population, including mass executions and abductions. The UN Mission to the DRC, MONUC, has increased its presence in the north of the country, after being urged to do so by the UK and other governments. MONUC is providing logistical support to humanitarian organisations, which are providing relief to the civilian population.
We also strongly urge co-ordination between the different peacekeeping missions in that region of Africa.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has spent on (a) hosting and (b) supporting the involvement of young British people in (i) EU, (ii) Commonwealth and (iii) UN activities. [293805]
Chris Bryant: This information is not held centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
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