§ 11. Mr. David StewartTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the extent is of British companies' involvement in the reconstruction of Iraq. [164131]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienBritish companies are playing an important role in the reconstruction process of Iraq. In the recent tranche of contracts worth a total of $5 billion, British companies in joint venture with US companies have won substantial contracts in the Electricity and Public Works and Water sectors, worth in excess of $1.5 billion.
1308WMy hon. Friend was in Basra and so knows British companies are also active in the banking, ports, construction, telecoms, security, legal services and consultancy sectors.
§ 14. Jim KnightTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Governments of countries neighbouring Iraq about the cross-border movements of terrorist groups. [164134]
§ Mr. RammellWe have regular contacts with Iraq's neighbours about cross-border movements of terrorist groups. The Coalition Provisional Authority is currently working on a phased plan to tighten border security, beginning with the Iranian border.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the distribution of the Iraqi Oil for Food money and accrued interest. [163532]
§ Mr. RammellUN Security Council Resolution 1483 established the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) as a single account to handle all proceeds from the sale of Iraqi oil, all remaining monies from the Oil For Food (OFF) programme. and all unencumbered Iraqi overseas assets. The DFI is used to fund the Iraqi Budget and additional emergency expenditures authorised by the joint Coalition-Iraqi Programme Review Board.
In addition to the $1 billion transferred from OFF accounts to the DFI at its inception, all uncommitted OFF monies were transferred to the DFI following the hand-over of responsibility for ongoing OFF contracts to the Iraqi Ministry of Trade and the Coalition Provisional Authority on 21 November 2003. The accounts of the DFI as of 5 March 2004 show that this transfer amounted to $2,192,314,373.89.
The DFI is an interest-bearing account held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and all interest earned by the account is re-invested. The accounts of the DFI, the Iraqi Budget and minutes of the Program Review Board are available on-line at the CPA website: www.cpa-iraq.org.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the basic constitutional rules and decision making systems for the Iraqi Transitional National Assembly; and if he will make a statement. [163990]
§ Mr. RammellThe principles of the transitional political structures in Iraq, including the Transitional National Assembly are set out in the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), which was signed by the Iraqi Governing Council on 8 March. A copy of the TAL has been placed in the Library of the House. The signing of the TAL was a major step forward for the political process in Iraq.
§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out the membership of the Iraqi Transitional National Assembly, including the members' ethnicity; and if he will make a statement. [163995]
§ Mr. RammellThe Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) was signed by the Iraqi Governing Council on 8 March. The TAL establishes the principles of the 1309W transitional political structures and sets out the timetable for the elections processes, including membership of the National Assembly. Article 30 states:
C "The National Assembly shall be elected in accordance with an electoral law and a political parties law. The electoral law shall aim to achieve the goal of having women constitute no less than one quarter of the members of the National Assembly and of having fair representation for all communities in Iraq, including the Turcomans, Chaldo-Assyrians and others.D "Elections for the National Assembly shall take place by 31 December 2004 if possible and in any case no later than 31 January 2005.The Iraqis have invited the UN to re-engage in Iraq and assist with the elections processes. We welcome the return to Iraq of the Head of the UN Elections Assistance Division, Carina Perelli, to advise on the establishment of an Independent Elections Commission by May.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Iraqi Governing Council's proposals to replace the country's civil family laws with Islamic Sharia Law. [164026]
§ Mr. RammellI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, Deptford (Joan Ruddock) on 9 March 2004,Official Report, column 1435W.
Governing Council Resolution 137 on family law has been withdrawn by the Governing Council. lit has no legal status.
§ Mr. Huw EdwardsTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are being taken by the international bodies involved in the reconstruction of Iraq to protect the interests of the Mandaean religious community. [164255]
§ Mr. RammellThe Coalition is working hard with the Iraqis to strengthen the Iraqi security and judiciary sectors to provide law and order and to protect the rights of all Iraqis. The fundamental rights of all Iraqis are laid out in Article 12 of the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), which was agreed by the Iraqi Governing Council on 8 March 2004. A copy of the TAL has been placed in the Library of the House.