Second Report of Session 2006-07, Visit to Guantánamo Bay (HC 44)

26. The Foreign Affairs Committee first commented on the United States detention centre at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in its June 2002 Report on Foreign Policy Aspects of the War against Terrorism.[10] At that time, the camp had been in use for a matter of months. Over the following four years, the Committee continued to take a close interest in Guantánamo, commenting in nine further Reports. In September 2006, seven of us spent a full day at Guantánamo Bay, where we were able to see for ourselves the conditions in which the detainees are held and to ask questions of the camp authorities. Ours was the first delegation from a national legislature other than the US Congress to visit the camp. In January 2007 we published a Report on Guantánamo Bay. The purpose of the Report was to place on the record a summary of what the group who visited Guantánamo saw and heard, and to make a further contribution to the debate on a number of issues relating to the US authorities' continued detention at that base of men classed by it as 'unlawful enemy combatants'.

27. In its response, the Government described our Report as "a comprehensive and helpful contribution to the debate over conditions at Guantánamo Bay and its future".[11] We have continued to discuss the future of Guantánamo with senior figures in the US administration and welcome the further releases of detainees, with appropriate safeguards, in 2007.

Fourth Report of Session 2006-07, South Asia (HC 55)

28. In August 2006 we published a report on East Asia, which addressed in particular the implications of the rising power of China.[12] We have followed this with a major inquiry into South Asia, one of the world's most dynamic economic regions, which is beginning to play a major role on the international stage. The main focus of the inquiry was on the other 'Asian giant', India, the world's largest democracy, which is expected to overtake the United Kingdom as the fifth largest economy within a decade.

29. As part of our inquiry, we held three evidence sessions with academics and other commentators, as well as an evidence session with the then Foreign Secretary. We visited India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, where our programme included meetings with government leaders and ministers, security forces, parliamentary committees, business representatives, non-governmental organisations and religious figures.

30. Our Report, published in May 2007, dealt with topics which included political and economic developments in India, relations between India and Pakistan and the question of Kashmir, India's role in the region and its links with its neighbours, India's contribution to the international system, and the roles of the United Kingdom and the EU in South Asia.

31. In its response, the Government welcomed the Committee's "detailed work" and noted that the Report "fully recognised" the broad range of factors underpinning the UK's relationship with the countries of South Asia.[13]

Fifth Report of Session 2006-07, Visit to Turkey and Cyprus (HC 473)

32. As we have mentioned above (in paragraph 21), the Committee undertakes visits in connection with its continuing Inquiry into Developments in the European Union. In January 2007, we judged that Turkey and Cyprus were priority destinations for such a visit. Turkey's accession process was partially stalled following a decision by the European Council to suspend negotiations on eight key chapters of the acquis.

33. Although it is not our standard practice to produce a Report on the Committee's visits (because of the necessary confidentiality of our discussions), we felt that it was important to acquaint the House with what we heard during our visit to Turkey and Cyprus. We therefore published a Report containing, as an annex, a summary of the issues we discussed and the opinions we encountered during the visit. In order to maintain the confidentiality of the exchanges, we arranged the material by theme, rather than by interlocutor. We made it clear that none of the comments or opinions we summarised was to be taken as representing the view of the Committee or was to be ascribed to any particular individual or organisation.

Sixth Report of Session 2006-07, Foreign Policy Aspects of the Detention of Naval Personnel by the Islamic Republic of Iran (HC 880)

34. On 23 March 2007, eight Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines based on HMS Cornwall, a Type 22 Frigate engaged in boarding and searching merchant vessels passing through Iraqi territorial waters, were seized by Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces close to the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab waterway. This incident created a diplomatic crisis and raised a number of issues regarding the decisions taken by, and the performance of, the Government in the following days.

35. We published a Report commenting on foreign policy aspects of these events: in particular, the use of diplomacy to resolve the situation, through bilateral contacts and third parties, and through the attempt to use the UN Security Council to increase the pressure on Iran; the effectiveness of inter-departmental co-ordination during the crisis; the Iranians' treatment of the detainees; and the involvement of the media. The Defence Committee has subsequently published a Report dealing with aspects of the same events which lie within the responsibilities of the Ministry of Defence.[14]

Evidence on Overseas Territories

36. One of the FCO's ten Strategic Priorities is the security and good governance of the United Kingdom's fourteen Overseas Territories.[15] In June 2007 we announced a new inquiry into the Overseas Territories in order to examine the exercise by the FCO of its responsibilities in relation to these Territories. The inquiry's terms of reference include the standards of governance, financial regulation, transparency and accountability, and human rights in the Overseas Territories, as well as the role of Governors and the procedures for amendment of the Territories' constitutions. So far we have held one evidence session on this inquiry, taking the opportunity of the meeting in London of the Overseas Territories Consultative Council, an annual forum for territory government leaders hosted by the FCO, to invite these representatives to give oral evidence to the Committee. Further evidence sessions will be held in the New Year. We have extended our deadline for written evidence until 31 January 2007 so that individuals can continue to send us their views during the course of the inquiry.

Evidence on Iraq (HC, 2006-07, 209-i)

37. We heard oral evidence on Iraq in January 2007 jointly with the Defence Committee from both the Foreign and Defence Secretaries. This provided an opportunity to scrutinise the Government's role in Iraq in a more holistic way. We subsequently commented on Iraq in our Reports on the FCO's Human Rights Annual Report and on Global Security: The Middle East.[16]

11   Second Report of Foreign Affairs Committee, Session 2006-07, Visit to Guantánamo Bay: Response of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Cm 7063, p 1 Back

12   Foreign Affairs Committee, Seventh Report of Session 2005-06, East Asia, HC 860-I Back

13   Fourth Report of Foreign Affairs Committee, Session 2006-07, South Asia: Response of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Cm 7142, p 1 (paras 1-5) Back

14   Defence Committee, Fourth Report of Session 2007-08, The Iran Hostages Incident: The Lessons Learned, HC 181 Back

15   1The Overseas Territories are: Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Antarctic Territory (BAT), the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT/Chagos Islands), the British Virgin Islands (BVI), the Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, St Helena and its Dependencies (Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus, and the Turks & Caicos Islands (TCI). Back

16   Foreign Affairs Committee, Third Report of Session 2006-07, Human Rights Annual Report 2006, HC 269, paras 81-92; Eighth Report of Session 2006-07, Global Security: The Middle East, HC 363, paras 166-89 Back