HC Deb 08 July 2002 vol 388 cc717-8W
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his Department's compliance with UN decisions concerning Iraq. [63810]

Mr. Hoon

Government policy towards Iraq has been developed within the framework of UN Security Council Resolutions.

The British armed forces continue to play an important role in enforcing as far as possible, UNSCRs against Iraq. Royal Navy vessels continue to make a valuable contribution to the Multinational Interception Force deployed in the Gulf to verify Iraqi compliance with UN sanctions. Royal Air Force aircraft patrol the Iraqi No Fly Zones in support of UN SCR 688, which demanded an end to Saddam's brutal repression of his own people. We also contribute a small contingent of British armed forces personnel to the UN Iraq Kuwait Observer Mission established under UN SCR 687 to monitor the UN defined border and demilitarised zone between Iraq and Kuwait.