§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has received concerning Iraqi treatment of British prisoners of war in Iraq.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggWe need no representations to express our disgust at the Iraqi treatment of allied POWs in Iraq. Iraq has been in breach of her obligations under the third Geneva convention. It has paraded and interrogated captured allied airmen before the television cameras, has announced they would be sent to strategic sites, that some had been wounded and that one was now dead. Specifically, Iraq has breached article 13 which says that POWs must at all times be protected against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity, article 17, as regards interrogation, and article 19 as regards evacuation out of danger. Finally, article 23 states that no POW may at any time be sent or detained in areas where he may be exposed to the fire of the combat zone, nor may his presence be used to render certain points immune for military operations. Using the POWs as a human shield as Iraq claims to have done would be seen as a serious breach under the terms of article 23.
We have been in very close touch with the International Committee of the Red Cross. Our mission in Geneva has drawn each successive report to its attention immediately and asked for verification. Specifically on 29 January, we immediately informed it of Iraqi media reports on the wounding and possible death of an allied POW and asked that it seek confirmation as rapidly as possible. So far Iraq has refused to give access to the ICRC and has not notified it of the capture of any POWs. Representations have been made to the ICRC by other allied countries and by the presidency on behalf of the EC. We have also asked some Governments who may have good contacts with the Iraqis to press them to comply with their obligation. In addition, I have summoned the Iraqi ambassador twice, most recently on 29 January, to whom I made clear Iraq's obligations under the convention. The ambassador in Geneva made representations on humanitarian grounds to his Iraqi counterpart who undertook to pass the demarche to Baghdad. We are exploring what other avenues may be open.