§ Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the military and security training given in the United Kingdom in the last 10 years to personnel from Uganda; and what steps were taken by Her Majesty's Government to seek to ensure that such personnel were not later involved in violation of human rights in Uganda.
§ Mr. RentonThe information requested by the hon. Member is not available in the precise form requested. However, between 1980 and 1985, 24 Ugandan students received training at military establishments in this country. Since the fall of the Obote regime no Ugandan students have been trained here.
Deployment of students after their training was a matter for the Ugandan authorities. However we have in this period taken every opportunity, at Ministerial and official level, to make known to successive Ugandan Administrations, our grave concern about human rights and to press them to take action to prevent abuses.
§ Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will give the number of countries whose personnel received in the last 10 years military and security training in the United Kingdom; and if he will name the countries concerned.
§ Mr. RentonThe information requested by the hon. Member is not available in the precise form requested. However, over the past three years personnel from some 89 countries have received training in military establishments in this country. The countries are as follows:
- Algeria
- Australia
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bermuda
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Burma
- Canada
- Chile
- Denmark
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Eire
- Ethiopia
- Federal Republic of Germany
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Greece
- Guyana
- Hong Kong
537 - Iceland
- India
- Indonesia
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kenya
- Kuwait
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Libya
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Monserrat
- Mozambique
- Nepal
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nigeria
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Portugal
- Qatar
- St Kitts
- St Lucia
- St Vincent
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Swaziland
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Uganda
- United Arab Emirates
- United States of America
- Venezuela
- Yemen Arab Republic
- Yugoslavia
- Zaire
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Records of other miscellaneous types of military assistance are not held centrally on a worldwide basis.
§ Mr. Winnickasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will introduce legislation to ensure that training in military and security matters is not given in the United Kingdom to personnel from countries where it has been demonstrated that human rights abuses occur, and to ensure that military equipment is not exported to those countries; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. RentonNo. When considering whether to offer training in the United Kingdom under military training assistance schemes full account is taken of the human rights situation in the country concerned. We would not agree to train people if in our judgment this was likely to538W contribute to violations of human rights. Similarly in deciding whether or not to grant a licence for the export of defence equipment to a particular country full account is taken of the human rights situation and we would not agree to the supply of any item which in our judgment was likely to be used for internal repression or to violate human rights.