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Written Answers
Wednesday, 29th May 2002.
Afghanistan
Baroness Rawlings asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they can provide financial details of the international indebtedness of the Afghan government.[HL2648]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos): Since Afghanistan has effectively operated outside of the international financial system for a number of years, there are no consolidated and reliable records of Afghanistan's indebtedness. More accurate figures are currently being calculated and will be available in the future.
Baroness Rawlings asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will provide details of how the £500 million of European Union aid is being distributed in Afghanistan; how much has already been distributed; and to whom.[HL2649]
Baroness Amos: At the Tokyo Conference on Reconstruction in Afghanistan in January 2002, European Union (EU) countries pledged a total of £1·5 billion for assistance over the period 2002 to 2006. This combines firm pledges for 2002 of over £250 million and indicative amounts for the period beyond. The European Commission (EC) has pledged over £125 million for recovery and reconstruction in 2002 and similar annual contributions for the next four years.
According to data collated by the EC, EU member states have so far disbursed over £64 million of assistance to Afghanistan in 2002. This is being channelled through UN agencies, the Red Cross, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and, in the case of the UK, the World Bank Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund. The EC has so far approved about £60 million worth of assistance for emergency relief, rapid support for the Afghan Interim Administration and initial recovery programmes.
Lord Hardy of Wath asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Which Ministers, Members of the Opposition and senior officers visited Afghanistan; when these visits took place; and how long was each visit.[HL4566]
Baroness Amos:
Ministers
The Prime Minister, 7 to 8 January 2002;
The Secretary of State for Defence, 5 February 2002;
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, 15 February 2002.
Rt. Hon Adam Ingram, Minister for Armed Forces, 1 to 4 April 2002.
Members of the Opposition
Rt. Hon. Menzies Campbell MP, 15 February 2002;
Hon. Bernard Jenkin MP, 1 to 4 April 2002;
Patrick Mercer MP, 1 to 4 April 2002.
Senior Officers
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Mr Robert Cooper, UK Special Representative for Afghanistan, 21 to 22 December 2001, and 15 February 2002;
Mr Graham Fry, Deputy Under-Secretary of State (Wider-World), 15 February 2002;
Mr Michael Ryder, Head of Drugs and International Crime Department, 3 to 9 March 2002;
Mr David Reddaway, UK Special Representative on Afghanistan, 26 to 31 March 2002;
Ms Jan Thompson, Head of Afghanistan Unit, 26 to 31 March 2002.
Department for International Development (DFID)
Dr Mukesh Kapila, Head of Conflict and Humanitarian Affairs Department, 19 to 22 November 2001, 15 to 17 January 2002, 8 to 12 March 2002 and 18 to 21 March 2002.
Ministry of Defence
Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, Chief of Defence Staff, 27 to 28 January 2002;
Lt General John Reith, Chief of Joint Operations, 27 to 28 January 2002 and 9 to 10 April;
Mr Desmond Bowen, Director General Operational Policy, 5 February 2002;
General Sir Mike Jackson, Commander in Chief, Land Command, 7 to 8 February 2002;
Air Marshall Joe French, Chief of Defence Intelligence, 9 to 10 April 2002.
shirley
Lord Ahmed asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will call for an impartial and international inquiry into ethnic cleansing of minority communities from Indian Gujarat; and[HL4365]
Whether they have raised with the Indian Government the question of the murder of Christian priests and the destruction of churches in Gujarat.[HL4366]
Whether they have raised with the Indian Government the question of the killing of Muslims in Gujarat since February by the Hindu fundamentalist groups, VHP and Shiv Sinna; and [HL4362]
29 May 2002 : Column WA149
Baroness Amos: We have been very concerned by the recent communal violence and deaths in Gujarat, including attacks against Muslims, Hindus and Christians. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary has been in close and regular contact with the Government of India, as has our High Commission in Delhi. The Government of India have given us their assurances, which we welcome, that they will take action to investigate the violence and to bring to justice perpetrators of the killings, including those who have murdered British citizens.
We are aware of attacks against Christians in Gujarat, both prior to and during the recent communal violence since February. The Foreign Secretary and the Minister for Europe have previously raised our concerns for Christian welfare with the Government of India.
Lord Ahmed asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will suspend international aid to India until the Indian Government can prove that action has been taken against Hindu fundamentalists and that they have banned VHP and Shiv Sinna. [HL4364]
Baroness Amos: Our development assistance in India is firmly focused on reducing poverty. In India and elsewhere it would be wrong to reduce assistance to the poor in order to try to achieve other political objectives.
China: One-Child Policy
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the Written Answer by Dennis MacShane MP on 9 May (HC Deb, 309W), what has been the response of the Chinese authorities to the concerns expressed by Her Majesty's Government over abuses associated with the one child policy.[HL4434]
Baroness Amos: At a meeting on 20 May with my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development, a Minister from the Chinese State Family Planning Commission acknowledged that abuses had occurred but said that officials guilty of abuse would continue to be prosecuted. The new population and family planning law would enshrine citizens' rights and the responsibilities of family planning officials. He added that China's eventual aim was to end the system of birth targets and quotas.
Sudan
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they have received reports of attacks on civilians by either the Government of Sudan or the armed opposition since 26 April, the date of the report of Senator Danforth, the United States Peace Envoy.[HL4445]
Baroness Amos: The civil war in Sudan is being waged in remote areas of that vast country. Communications are poor and information often unreliable or unclear. It is virtually certain that civilians are suffering and dying as a result of the current military activity on both sides. That is why we are redoubling our efforts to achieve peace. We have seen a press release from the SPLM alleging a bombing involving civilian casualties. We are also aware of reports that civilians on the government side were killed and injured as a result of a landmine incident in the vicinity of Wau. However, as far as we know, neither side has formally sought to raise any such attack in the context of the mechanism set up in negotiation with Senator Danforth. shirley
Turkmenistan
The Earl of Listowel asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What involvement the British Embassy in Turkmenistan has had with projects aimed at supporting young people. [HL4447]
Baroness Amos: The British Embassy in Ashgabat has carried out more than 20 small projects since 1999 aimed at supporting young people in Turkmenistan. These include support to an advice centre; the provision of a craft workshop and renovated kitchen facilities at a children's detention centre; support for anti-drugs activities and an Ashgabat AIDS Centre; in conjunction with Shell PLC, a road safety campaign; the provision of a mini-bus for a special needs school; and a range of support for schools and higher education institutes. These programmes have been largely supported from a small grants scheme funded by the Department for International Development, with some additional funding from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Council.
RAF Human Centrifuge Project
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether the RAF human centrifuge project is running on time and budget; and [HL4342]
Whether in the event of the failure of the ETC Corporation to deliver the RAF human centrifuge as originally specified it is intended that the contract to supply will fall to another company. [HL4343]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach): The RAF human centrifuge project is expected to deliver a new centrifuge facility in 2005. This is later than expected because the original contractor for the programme, Environmental Tectonics Corporation, failed to deliver and its contract was terminated. Following a further competition, we expect to place a new contract in 2003. We anticipate that the costs for the new project will be in line with the original cost estimates for the programme. shirley
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