§ Mr. William PowellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops serving with the implementation force are under orders to co-operate with the international criminal tribunal; if this co-operation extends to(a) searching for, (b) reporting, (c) detaining and (d) handing over any persons suspected of committing crimes within the jurisdiction of the tribunal; and if he will make a statement. [14315]
§ Mr. SoamesNATO and IFOR fully support the efforts of the United Nations tribunal, which is responsible for investigating war crimes in the former Yugoslavia and bringing to justice those individuals indicted by the tribunal. IFOR has clear instructions to pass on to the tribunal any information it acquires about indicted war criminals, to detain any such individuals encountered during operations and to transfer them immediately to the tribunal. It is not part of IFOR's mandate to search for these individuals. The chief prosecutor of the tribunal has said that he is satisfied with the level of support offered by IFOR and has agreed that this should be provided within the limits of its mandate and available resources.