§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the level of public expenditure by the Office of the President of Zimbabwe.[160721]
§ Mr. MullinComparison of the Zimbabwe state budget for 2004 with the original and supplementary budgets of 2003 shows a significant increase in provision for the Office of the President. We have not made an analysis of how this money is actually spent.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Zimbabwe Government about its(a) Public Order and Security Act and (b) Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. [160726]
§ Mr. MullinWe have made the Government of Zimbabwe aware of our concerns about legislation, which is being used to suppress basic human rights such as freedom of speech and association, and freedom of the press.
EU Foreign Ministers, including my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, met on 23 February, and issued a strong statement condemning human rights abuses in Zimbabwe which drew specific attention to these Acts.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in(a) the European Union, (b) the United Nations and (c) the Commonwealth on the activities of the youth militia in Zimbabwe. [160730]
§ Mr. MullinThe use by the Zimbabwe Government of youth militias (the so called "Green Bombers") for violence and intimidation of government opponents is well documented. We and our EU partners have called for the immediate closure of the youth training camps.
With our EU partners, we are discussing the tabling of a resolution on Zimbabwe at the UN Commission on Human Rights when it meets later this month. The intent is to highlight the level of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and to call on the Government of Zimbabwe to take action.
Violence and human rights in Zimbabwe was a major theme of discussion at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Abuja in December, which decided to maintain Zimbabwe's suspension from the Councils of the Commonwealth.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the European Union about the list of persons from Zimbabwe banned from travelling to member states in the European Union. [160733]
§ Mr. MullinI refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) on 23 February 2004,Official Report, column 96W.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the list published in theDaily News in Zimbabwe in 2003 of (a) police and (b) others who are suspected of human rights abuses. [160736]
42W
§ Mr. MullinWe take seriously information on reported human rights abusers in Zimbabwe such as those on theDaily News list. We will continue to make our concerns about the abuse of human rights clear to the Zimbabwe authorities.