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Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: In all situations of conflict the UK supports efforts to seek a resolution based on a conciliatory approach. We welcomed the Turkish Government's partial amnesty to former combatants which expired in February 2004, and would welcome any future similar initiative. However, the national security of Turkey remains a sovereign matter for the Turkish Government, and should not be tied to the accession process.

Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:

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Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The European Commission is aware of the restrictions that currently prevent internally displaced persons (IDPs) from returning to villages in south-east Turkey. The Commission's 2004 progress report on Turkey notes that "the major outstanding obstacles preventing IDPs from returning to their villages are the government sponsored village guard system; the problem of landmines; the absence of basic infrastructure; and the lack of capital and employment opportunities". However, the report also notes that "Turkey has begun a dialogue with international organisations with a view to addressing the weaknesses of the 'Return to Village and Rehabilitation Programme'". We are in regular contact with the Commission on a range of human rights issues including village return, and remain confident that all remaining concerns will be resolved during accession negotiations.

Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The current political parties law forbids the political use of languages other than Turkish in either written material or public speeches. Under this law charges have been brought against a number of individuals. The European Commission 2004 progress report on Turkey states that "several provisions of the law fall short of European standards".

The Turkish Government passed a new press law in June 2004 that is widely regarded as a great improvement on its predecessor. Significantly, it includes European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) provisions governing the freedom of the press, introduces fines where prison sentences had previously existed, and removes restrictions introduced after the 1980 coup. However, there are a few remaining concerns. The European Commission 2004 progress report on Turkey states that "despite a decrease in sanctions in the new law, fines still constitute an excessive burden, especially on local media".

We will continue to raise freedom of expression and freedom of the press with the Turkish Government. Affirmation in the Turkish constitution that international human rights agreements take precedence over domestic law now means that Turkey is bound to the provisions of Article 10 of the ECHR on freedom of expression.
 
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Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: The European Commission is responsible for ensuring the full implementation of reforms in connection with European Union (EU) accession and will continue to report on this annually to the European Council.

The Turkish Government have set up a number of bodies and mechanisms to address the implementation of EU harmonisation reforms, including, in September 2003, the Reform Monitoring Group which played a key role in facilitating the start of private language education and broadcasting in Kurdish. As a result, implementation is improving, but more remains to be done to ensure the full and consistent application of the reforms passed. The UK will continue to urge the Turkish Government to do everything possible to improve implementation, and in support of their efforts, recently co-funded with the Ministry of Justice a programme to train over 8,000 judges and prosecutors in human rights and European law.

Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean : Officials from the British Embassy in Ankara are monitoring developments in this case. An embassy official attended the first hearing of the re-trial in December 2004. The next hearing takes place on 21 February. Following constitutional amendments in Turkey in May 2004, European Convention on Human Rights provisions now take precedence over domestic law. The UK Government continue to monitor and raise cases with the Turkish authorities where we are concerned that this new legislation is not being implemented.

UN Convention on Refugees

Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: As at 1 February 2005 there were 142 states parties to the 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees. I have placed a document detailing the states parties in the Library of the House. Of the states that are not party to the 1951 convention, three (Cape Verde, United States of America and Venezuela) are none the less party to its 1967 protocol, which removed geographical and temporal restrictions from the convention.
 
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Tampere European Council 1999: Conclusions

Lord Stoddart of Swindon asked Her Majesty's Government:

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: Listed below are the treaty articles related to the European Union Monitoring Centre for Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC), the European Police College (CEPOL), the European Railway Agency (ERA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

1. European Union Monitoring Centre for Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC)

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2. CEPOL

3. European Railways Agency (ERA)

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4. European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)


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