Iraq (Hansard, 15 December 1993)

§ 6. Lady Olga Maitland
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made in representations over prisoners of war held in Iraq.

§ Mr. Douglas Hogg
This is an important issue and I have to concede that we have made jolly little progress. We raised the matter at every review of sanctions, most recently on 18 November. It is an important matter and we will continue to press it.

§ Lady Olga Maitland
I thank my right hon. and learned Friend for his answer. Will he join me in congratulating our right hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Sir E. Heath) on his success in bringing back the detainees from Iraq? Does he accept, however, that this is not the end of the matter? Three and a half years after the Gulf war, prisoners of war are still held in Iraq, including 625 Kuwaitis. Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that we should not lift sanctions on Iraq until the detainees have been released?

§ Mr. Hogg
My hon. Friend is quite right to pay tribute to the former Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Sir E. Heath). What he did was extraordinarily helpful; the families of the prisoners will be extremely grateful to him. My hon. Friend is also entirely right to highlight the plight of the 627 or so Kuwaiti detainees. She can be assured that we will raise their plight with the Iraqis on every possible occasion. It is an important element in our contacts with Iraq that that country should comply in every respect with the mandatory requirements of the Security Council resolutions.

§ Mr. Flynn
Does the Minister agree that there are other prisoners of war in Iraq, including many Kurds and Shias? Is it not time that we should consider international action to prevent the terrible suffering that is caused by Saddam Hussein's relentless attacks on the Shias in the marshes?

§ Mr. Hogg
There are a number of prisoners of war—Kurds, certainly; Shia from the marshes; and Iranians. It is important that we do all that we can to ensure that Iraq and Saddam Hussein's regime do not continue to oppress their people. That is why we have no-fly zones in north and south Iraq. I should have some difficulty in telling the hon. Gentleman that there would be support within the Security Council for any more forward action in south Iraq.