House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 16 Jul 2004 (pt 12)

Amicus Briefs

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list overseas legal proceedings in which amicus briefs have been filed on behalf of the United Kingdom in the last 10 years. [184872]

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Mr. Straw: During the last 12 months, the Government have submitted amicus briefs, either alone or with other Governments, in four cases in the United States courts; these were:

Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain (concerning the Alien Tort Statute);

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and Others v. Empagran S. A. (concerning the extraterritorial extent of anti-trust legislation);

Krishna Maharaj (concerning a failure to notify a consul of the arrest of a national); and

Christopher Simmons (concerning the imposition of the death penalty upon a person who was a juvenile).

To research the cases for the previous years would incur disproportionate costs.

Vera Baird: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what criteria he applies when deciding whether to file an amicus brief in overseas legal proceedings. [184873]

Mr. Straw: A decision on whether to file an amicus brief is taken in the light of all the circumstances, and particularly the United Kingdom's overall national interest.

British Indian Ocean Territories

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings he has held with the Government of Mauritius concerning its claim for sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territories; and if he will make a statement. [184367]

Mr. Rammell [holding answer 15 July 2004]: There have been no recent meetings between the two Governments on this issue. However, both my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and I offered discussion of this issue with Mauritian Prime Minister Paul Berenger during his recent visit to the UK.

The British Government do not recognise the claim by Mauritius to sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory. However, we have recognised Mauritius as the only state which has a right to assert a claim of sovereignty when the United Kingdom relinquishes it own sovereignty, and successive British Governments have given undertakings to the Government of Mauritius that the Territory will be ceded when no longer required for defence purposes subject to the requirements of international law.

Burma

Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to engage the Government of Burma on developing democracy in that country. [183305]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Government have been at the forefront of efforts over many years to promote political reform in Burma. We remain willing to support a genuine process of national reconciliation, leading to the restoration of democracy and full respect for human rights and are ready to respond positively to tangible progress on the ground. This position has repeatedly been made clear to the regime, most recently when I met the Burmese Ambassador on 1 June.

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Also I regularly discuss Burma with my Asian colleagues to encourage them to press the regime to move ahead with the political process. In particular I last spoke to the Thai Foreign Minister about Burma on 29 June.

Gibraltar

Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the consequences for Gibraltar's status of the proposed European Constitution. [182820]

Mr. MacShane: The new Constitutional Treaty preserves Gibraltar's existing EU status.

Iraq

Denzil Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will deposit in the Library a copy of the instruments of the transfer of sovereignty from the Coalition Provisional Authority to the interim Government of Iraq. [182912]

Mr. Rammell: On 28 June Ambassador Paul Bremer, the Administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority, handed over a letter to Judge Midhat Mahmoud and Prime Minister Allawi. This letter sealed the transfer of authority from the Coalition Provisional Authority to the Interim Iraqi Government.

I will place a copy of the letter in the Library of both Houses.

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate has been made of income from oil resources in Iraq not accounted for over the period since the commencement of the occupation due to the lack, or inadequacy, of metering; who has been responsible for such metering; who is responsible for it now; who has gained from the improper accounting; what proposals are in hand to rectify the problem, over what timescale; and if he will make a statement. [183003]

Mr. Rammell: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent (Llew Smith) on 7 July 2004, Official Report, column 765W. There is no reason to believe that income remains unaccounted for from the export of Iraq's oil during the occupation. During the Coalition's tenure all revenue from the sale of Iraq's oil was paid into the Development Fund for Iraq (DPI), which was established pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483 of 22 May 2003. As of 24 June 2004, the last date of oil sales before the handover of authority on 28 June, total proceeds from Iraq's oil exports to the DPI were US$ 11.1 billion.

The Coalition Provisional Authority oil team had been pressing the Iraqi Ministry of Oil for meters to be installed as a matter of urgency, but at the handover of authority the issue remained outstanding. The Iraqi Ministry of Oil now has full responsibility for ensuring meters are installed on Iraq's oil wellheads.

Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many (a) UK, (b) US and (c) other nationals are attached to the Iraq Survey Group; and when it is expected to complete its work. [183520]

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Mr. MacShane: As of the end of June, the numbers of personnel attached to the Iraq Survey Group were (a) 54 UK personnel; (b) 1,722 US personnel; and (c) 11 personnel of other nationalities.

There is no set deadline for completion of the Iraq Survey Group's task.

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the US Administration on child prisoners held in Abu Ghraib prison. [183958]

Mr. Rammell: We have regular discussions with the US during which a wide variety of issues concerning Iraq are discussed. It is not our practice to make public the detail of these discussions under exemption 1(b) of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government information.

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what access UNICEF has to child prisoners in prisons in Iraq under the control of Coalition forces. [183959]

Mr. Rammell: UNICEF does not have access to those detained by Coalition forces in Iraq including those under the age of 18. This is the responsibility of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what prison facilities in Iraq under the control of Coalition forces are solely for child prisoners. [183960]

Mr. Rammell: There are no facilities in Iraq under the control of Coalition forces that are solely for prisoners under the age of 18. However, prisoners under the age of 18 are separated from adult prisoners, unless they are housed with family members.

Israel

Mr. Best: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his assessment is of the Israeli Supreme Court's decision relating to the positioning of the wall. [183337]

Mr. Rammell: We are aware of the recent decision by the Israeli High Court to rule in favour of Palestinian petitioners who brought a case against confiscation orders issued by the Israeli Defence Force for a 30 kilometre stretch of land to be used for the construction of the barrier around Jerusalem. While we have always acknowledged Israel's legitimate security concerns, we have consistently made clear to the Israeli government our opposition to the building of the barrier on Occupied Territory, on legal and humanitarian grounds.

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