Afghanistan (Hansard, 31 January 2002)

HC Deb 31 January 2002 vol 379 cc502-3W 502W

§ Mr. Jenkin
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the oral statement given by the Secretary of 503W State for International Development on 28 January 2002, Official Report, columns 21–36, if he will publish the terms of the Scoping Study on how to provide security across Afghanistan and begin the process of demobilisation and disarmament and the building and training of an Afghan army and police force; and if he will make a statement. [31811]

§ Mr. Hoon
In keeping with our role as current lead nation for the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, the UK is committed to assisting the Afghan Interim Administration (AIA) as it begins the rebuilding of Afghanistan. The Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Defence are in the process of jointly commissioning a scoping study on security sector reform in Afghanistan, to be carried out in consultation with the AIA, the UN and other international partners. Its terms of reference are being finalised, and I will place a copy in the Library of the House in due course.

§ Llew Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment was made of the provisions of articles 41 and 42 of the United Nations Charter before the military conflict in Afghanistan was begun. [31058]

§ Mr. MacShane
I have been asked to reply.
Following the terrorist outrages on 11 September 2001, the Security Council adopted Resolutions 1368 (2001) on 12 September 2001 and 1373 (2001) on 28 September 2001, which condemned international terrorism. The latter imposed a series of measures to combat international terrorism in accordance with Article 41 of the Charter.
Military operations against the al-Qaeda organisation and the Taliban regime which supported it were undertaken in the exercise of the inherent right of individual and collective self-defence, recognised in Article 51 of the Charter, to avert the continuing threat of attacks from that source. This right of self-defence was reaffirmed in Resolutions 1368 and 1373.