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Council of Europe Conventions
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the conventions of the Council of Europe which the UK has yet to ratify. [158747]
Mr. Vaz: There are 16 conventions of the Council of Europe which the UK has not yet ratified. They are:
- 1. Protocol no.4 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, securing certain rights and freedoms other than those included in the Convention and in Protocol no.1
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- 2. Convention relating to stops on bearer securities in international circulation
- 3. Convention on the establishment of a scheme of registration of wills
- 4. European Convention on the Control of the acquisition and possession of Firearms by individuals
- 5. European Convention for the Protection of Animals for Slaughter
- 6. Protocol amending the European Social Charter
- 7. European Social Charter (revised)
- 8. Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in public life at local level
- 9. European Convention relating to questions on copyright law and neighbouring rights in the framework of Transfrontier Broadcasting by satellite
- 10. Agreement on illicit traffic by sea, implementing article 17 of the United Nations Convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances
- 11. Convention on the recognition of qualifications concerning higher education in the European region
- 12. Criminal law convention on corruption
- 13. European agreement relating to persons participating in proceedings of the European Court of Human Rights
- 14. Sixth protocol to the general agreement on privileges and immunities of the Council of Europe
- 15. Civil law convention on corruption
- 16. European Convention on the promotion of a Transitional long-term voluntary service for young people
Entry Clearance
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs further to his answer of 10 April 2001, Official Report, column 529W, on entry clearance, what proportion of the cases in which he intervened pertain to families of individuals known to him personally; and if he will make a statement. [158811]
Mr. Vaz: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 27 April 2001, Official Report, column 420W.
Ms Oona King: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for how long on average a person who applied for entry clearance for settlement in (a) June 2000, (b) July 2000, (c) August 2000, (d) September 2000, (e) October 2000, (f) November 2000, (g) December 2000, (h) January 2001, (i) February 2001 and (j) March 2001 will have to wait for an interview in each queue at each post in the Indian sub-continent. [160093]
Mr. Vaz: The statistics are as follows:
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(32) Calcutta, Colombo, Karachi and Madras operate as a single settlement queue
Notes:
Q1--Right of abode cases and Dependant Relatives over 65
Q2--Spouses and Children under 18
Q3--Fiance(e)s and other First Time Applicants
Q4--Re-applicants
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EU Single Sky Initiative
Mr. Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with Spain regarding the European Union's single sky proposals; and if he will make a statement. [159580]
Mr. Vaz: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary last discussed the matter with his Spanish counterpart on 9 April. The Government fully support the EU single sky initiative, which should benefit UK industry and consumers. The Stockholm European Council on 23-24 March called for progress on this issue before the next European Council in Gothenburg on 15-16 June.
Regional and Minority Languages
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what provision he has made in accordance with his commitments under Article 12, paragraph 3 of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages to reflect the (a) Irish, (b) Welsh and (c) Scots Gaelic languages and culture; and what the estimated cost of such provision is in each of the next four years. [159498]
Mr. Vaz: There is no fixed budget for honouring this commitment over the next four years, but the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish Devolved Administrations, who are responsible for implementing these measures, have a number of programmes in hand.
The Scottish Executive and the Northern Ireland Executive have allocated a total of £310,000 in 2001-02 for the Columba Initiative in co-operation with the
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Republic of Ireland to promote links between speakers of Irish and Scots Gaelic in both Scotland and the whole island of Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Administration is committed to a number of projects, including a £2.53 million subsidy for the Irish Language Agency under the Good Friday Agreement, and a touring exhibition of all the languages used in Northern Ireland, both of which will benefit the Republic of Ireland. The NIA has also, in conjunction with the British Council and the Arts Council in the Republic of Ireland, funded a number of events to promote Irish culture in countries such as France, Germany and the USA, and will continue to offer support where appropriate to similar future initiatives.
The National Assembly for Wales announced in April 2000, funding worth £130,000 over three years, in support of a project to support the Welsh Language and Culture in the Chubut province of Argentina. The project is managed for the Assembly by the British Council in collaboration with the Wales-Argentina Society and Cardiff University's Welsh Language Teaching Centre for Adults.
Your Britain, Your Europe Roadshow
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 13 March 2001, Official Report, column 549W, on the Your Britain, Your Europe Roadshow, at what level and on what date the decision was made to (a) postpone and (b) cancel the initiative. [159555]
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Mr. Vaz: In early January I decided that this visit would have to be postponed. It was subsequently rescheduled for 20 March. Following consultations with officials in the Northern Ireland Executive and the Northern Ireland Office, by late February it was clear that this date would not be convenient for their Ministers. On 28 February I decided to cancel the visit. I hope it will be reinstated in the near future.
Turkey
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Turkish authorities regarding the hunger strikers in Turkish prisons. [159924]
Mr. Vaz: We are very concerned about the continuing hunger strikes in some Turkish prisons. Our Ambassador in Ankara raised our concern about the deaths of hunger strikers with the Turkish Government on 12 April. Our Embassy in Ankara again raised our concerns at the growing number of deaths with the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 26 April.
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