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FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS
Treaty of Amsterdam (Tapes)
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the General Secretariat have informed the Government as President of the Council of Ministers that the tapes of the Treaty of Amsterdam negotiations contain material on opt-in procedures by opt-out Schengen states. [34083]
Immigration
Mr. Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if it is his policy that entry clearance officers should refuse entry to the United Kingdom because an applicant has legally extended a previous visit beyond six months; and if he will make a statement. [34162]
Mr. Fatchett: Entry Clearance Officers are required by the Immigration Rules to be satisfied that an applicant qualifies for admission in the capacity sought.
The fact that a person has legally extended a previous visit to the UK beyond six months is not, of itself, a reason for refusal. But an applicant's record of adherence to undertakings made in connection with previous entry clearance applications is a relevant factor when considering future applications.
Nepal
Ms Drown:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action (a) the United Kingdom and (b) its EU partners are taking to resolve the problem of the Bhutanese refugees currently living in camps in Nepal. [34512]
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Mr. Fatchett:
We shall continue to use every opportunity to encourage the governments of Nepal and Bhutan in their dialogue on this issue. The EU raised the refugee problem in its statement to the Third Committee at the UN General Assembly in November 1997. As Presidency, we are working with EU partners to ensure that our concerns are raised during the forthcoming UN Commission on Human Rights.
Ms Drown:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the Government's policy towards an internationally monitored verification process to determine which of the refugee population in Nepal have a right to return to Bhutan. [34513]
Mr. Fatchett:
We shall continue our support for UNHCR, who have made it clear that they stand ready to help with any repatriation project agreed between the governments of Bhutan and Nepal.
Mr. Nigel Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the procedure and timescale he will follow in making a decision on the future location of GCHQ in Cheltenham, indicating progress to date. [34511]
Mr. Robin Cook:
Tenders for GCHQ's New Accommodation PFI were returned as scheduled on 16 February by all four private sector consortia. GCHQ and its professional advisers are now engaged in the post-tender process. An announcement on the future location of GCHQ is expected during the second half of the year.
Mr. Levitt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the quantity of arms exported to Iraq since the Gulf War originating (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) elsewhere. [34344]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The UK has complied with the UN arms embargo since it was imposed on Iraq in 1990 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 661. While we would expect other countries to abide by the embargo, we cannot comment on any supplies that may have reached Iraq from elsewhere.
Mr. Singh:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking during their presidency of the EU to facilitate the development and implementation of an EU code of conduct on the arms trade. [34241]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Westbury (Mr. Faber) on 2 February 1998, Official Report, columns 542-43. Since 2 February, we have had one round of discussions with our EU partners and a revised draft will be circulated to them shortly.
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Mr. Todd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to ensure that the Geneva Conference on Disarmament includes multilateral disarmament on its agenda. [34514]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The Conference on Disarmament adopted an agenda for the 1998 session on 20 January. This includes a number of items relevant to multilateral disarmament. We are pressing for the establishment of Ad Hoc Committees to work on a ban on anti-personnel landmines and on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty.
Mr. Levitt:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries are currently the subject of international inspections of their chemical and biological weapon capability. [34345]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
One hundred and seven (107) countries are Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, and hence subject to the inspections provided for under that Treaty. The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention does not currently have an inspection regime; but the UK is pressing for the early conclusion of the negotiations on a Protocol which will fill this serious gap. Separate arrangements apply to Iraq, under the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution in (a) cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the total the UK will make to the running costs of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons over the next five years. [33940]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The UK's assessed contribution for the 1998 budget (calendar) year is:
The UK's percentage contribution will decrease slightly as more signatories accede to the Convention over the next few years, for which assessed contributions have yet to be determined.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of recent allegations by Ken Alibekov that Russia has continued to develop biological weapons in contravention of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention; and if he will make a statement. [33942]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
In 1992, the Russian government admitted that the Soviet Union had conducted an offensive biological weapons programme, in violation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, and President Yeltsin issued a decree requiring that any non-compliant activity be terminated. Mr. Alibekov's allegations refer to the earlier programme. We continue to urge the Russian Federation to provide assurance of its full compliance with the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.
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Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the (a) chemical and biological weapons research programmes being undertaken and (b) stocks of such weapons held by (i) Iran, (ii) Syria, (iii) Libya, (iv) China, (v) North Korea and (vi) Sudan; and if he will make a statement. [33944]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
Assessments of this type are based on intelligence material on which it has been the practice of successive governments not to comment.
In the case of Iraq, the information we have supplied about chemical and biological weapons is based on material published by UNSCOM. Nothing comparable exists for these other countries.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage Egypt to sign and ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention. [33946]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
We are committed to making the Chemical Weapons Convention universal. We particularly regret that a number of countries in the Middle East--including Egypt--have not become parties to the Convention. We shall take every suitable opportunity to urge them to do so. As Presidency, we also plan to make EU demarches to that end.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries in arrears in their payments to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; and what is the amount of arrears concerned. [33938]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
Most of the 107 State Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention are currently in arrears with their payments, although the amounts involved are in many cases quite small in either percentage or absolute terms. It may therefore be easier to name those countries which were fully paid up for the 1998 budget year by the eighth session of the OPCW Executive Council from 27-30 January 1998:
At that point, some 85.3 per cent. of the 1997 budget contributions and 96.1 per cent. of the 1993-97 Preparatory Commission contributions had been paid. The total arrears until that point amounted to Df1 16.937,000.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution (a) in cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the total (i) France, (ii) Germany, (iii) the USA and (iv) Japan will be making to the running costs of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons over the next five years. [33939]
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Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The assessed contributions for these countries for the 1998 budget (calendar) year are:
UK Dfl 6,755,779 5.32%
(Dfl 3.376 = £1 on 12/3/98)
Australia
Bahrain
Canada
Netherlands
New Zealand
Slovak Republic
Sweden
United Kingdom.
(Df1 3.376 = £1 on 12/3/98)
| Country | Dfl | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| France | 8,152,650 | 6.5 |
| Germany | 11,505,141 | 9.06 |
| USA | 30,611,125 | 25.00 |
| Japan | 19,873,671 | 15.65 |
Note:
Dfl 3.376 = £1 on 12 March 1998
These percentage contributions will decrease slightly as more signatories accede to the Convention over the next few years, for which assessed contributions have yet to be determined.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the cost of disposing of Russian chemical weapons stocks; and how much of that cost in (a) cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the total will be covered by (i) the UK, (ii) France, (iii) Germany, (iv) the USA and (v) Japan. [33941]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The Chemical Weapons Convention makes clear that the responsibility for chemical weapons destruction rests with the possessor state. Without prejudice to this principle, the EU has pledged up to 15 million ECU of TACIS (Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States) funding for projects in chemical weapon destruction-related areas. A number of countries have also offered bilateral assistance, including the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden. We do not have precise or detailed figures for those countries' offers of assistance, but the total amount of foreign (non-Russian) assistance so far represents only a small proportion of the overall costs--estimated by Russia at more than US$4 billion.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; and if he will make a statement. [33943]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
Neither my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary nor I have met the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Dr. Bustani. But we maintain regular contact with him and his staff through our Embassy in The Hague.
Mr. Menzies Campbell:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on negotiations on a compliance and verification regime for the Biological Weapons Convention. [33945]
Mr. Tony Lloyd:
The most recent session of the Ad Hoc Group of States Parties, which is negotiating verification and compliance Protocol to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention, took place in Geneva from 9-13 March. The UK is playing a leading role in these negotiations. At our initiative, the European Union agreed on 5 March a Common Position which makes clear our determination to promote decisive progress in the negotiations in the course of this year. We believe--not least in the light of the revelations of Iraq's extensive biological weapons programme--that strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention is both urgent and achievable.
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