§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in pursuance of the EU's declared belief that there is a need for Parliamentarians of the participating states to be better familiarised with the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, they will circulate copies of the code, together with the EU statement in Working Group 1 at the review meeting, to all Members of both Houses who deal with foreign affairs.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyCopies of the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security and the EU Statement of 15th November 1996 to Working Group 1 of the forum for Security Co-operation will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the European Union failed to raise the question of Turkey's non-compliance with the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security in Working Group 1 of the OSCE Review Conference in Vienna in November 1996.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyThe purpose of the OSCE Review Conference in Vienna was to review OSCE commitments, discuss the role and relevance of each provision and propose improvements. The EU highlighted several deficiencies in the implementation of the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security. We hope that a proposed high-level conference86WA on the Code of Conduct will examine in detail the implementation of the code by certain countries and recommend how the code might be better implemented.
§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, at the proposed high-level conference to make an in-depth review and follow up of the implementation of the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security in 1997, they will raise the possibility of an OSCE mission to south-east Turkey.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyOur priority is to obtain agreement to the high level conference proposed by the EU. We hope it will consider how implementation of the Code of Conduct might be improved. It is too early to consider the details of the agenda. It is the responsibility of the OSCE Permanent Council, rather than the proposed high level conference, to take decisions on the establishment of OSCE missions.
§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why, in the statement made by Ireland on behalf of the EU, the excessive use of violence in Chechnya and Croatia was deemed a serious breach of Article 36 of the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, thus prompting participating states to call on the states concerned to provide clarification and to limit their use of force, while a similar breach of Article 36 in south-east Turkey was overlooked.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyThe EU statement in Working Group 1 a of the OSCE Review Conference referred to two examples where the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security was invoked in 1995 by participating states to draw attention to breaches in Croatia and Chechnya. In the case of Turkey the code has not been invoked by any participating state over the question of its military actions in south-east Turkey in 1995. However the EU did raise the case of Turkey in the Permanent Council of the OSCE in March 1995.
§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, bearing in mind that 32 cases involving attacks by the Turkish armed forces on villages in the southeast have been declared admissible by the European Commission of Human Rights, that two have been referred to the Court, and that one (Akduvar & Others v. Turkey, reference 21893/93) was the subject of a decision against Turkey on 16th September 1996, they will raise the failure of Turkey to prosecute any armed forces personnel vested with command authority, in line with Article 31 of the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyAlthough we have no current plans to raise this, the EU statement of 15th November 1996 regretted the absence of any prosecutions under paragraph 31 of the Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security. It is for each individual state to decide whether to prosecute members of its armed forces under paragraph 31 of the code.