HC Deb 16 March 1998 vol 308 cc470-2W
Mr. Levitt

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries are currently the subject of international inspections of their chemical and biological weapon capability. [34345]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

One hundred and seven (107) countries are Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, and hence subject to the inspections provided for under that Treaty. The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention does not currently have an inspection regime; but the UK is pressing for the early conclusion of the negotiations on a Protocol which will fill this serious gap. Separate arrangements apply to Iraq, under the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution in(a) cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the total the UK will make to the running costs of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons over the next five years. [33940]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

The UK's assessed contribution for the 1998 budget (calendar) year is:

  • UK Dfl 6,755,779 5.32%
  • (Dfl 3.376 = £1 on 12/3/98)

The UK's percentage contribution will decrease slightly as more signatories accede to the Convention over the next few years, for which assessed contributions have yet to be determined.

Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of recent allegations by Ken Alibekov that Russia has continued to develop biological weapons in contravention of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention; and if he will make a statement. [33942]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

In 1992, the Russian government admitted that the Soviet Union had conducted an offensive biological weapons programme, in violation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, and President Yeltsin issued a decree requiring that any non-compliant activity be terminated. Mr. Alibekov's allegations refer to the earlier programme. We continue to urge the Russian Federation to provide assurance of its full compliance with the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.

Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the(a) chemical and biological weapons research programmes being undertaken and (b) stocks of such weapons held by (i) Iran, (ii) Syria, (iii) Libya, (iv) China, (v) North Korea and (vi) Sudan; and if he will make a statement. [33944]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

Assessments of this type are based on intelligence material on which it has been the practice of successive governments not to comment.

In the case of Iraq, the information we have supplied about chemical and biological weapons is based on material published by UNSCOM. Nothing comparable exists for these other countries.

Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to encourage Egypt to sign and ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention. [33946]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

We are committed to making the Chemical Weapons Convention universal. We particularly regret that a number of countries in the Middle East—including Egypt—have not become parties to the Convention. We shall take every suitable opportunity to urge them to do so. As Presidency, we also plan to make EU demarches to that end.

Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the countries in arrears in their payments to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; and what is the amount of arrears concerned. [33938]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

Most of the 107 State Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention are currently in arrears with their payments, although the amounts involved are in many cases quite small in either percentage or absolute terms. It may therefore be easier to name those countries which were fully paid up for the 1998 budget year by the eighth session of the OPCW Executive Council from 27–30 January 1998:

  • Australia
  • Bahrain
  • Canada
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Slovak Republic
  • Sweden
  • United Kingdom.

At that point, some 85.3 per cent. of the 1997 budget contributions and 96.1 per cent. of the 1993–97 Preparatory Commission contributions had been paid. The total arrears until that point amounted to Dfl 16.937,000. (Dfl 3.376 = £1 on 12/3/98)

Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution(a) in cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the total (i) France, (ii) Germany, (iii) the USA and (iv) Japan will be making to the running costs of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons over the next five years. [33939]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

The assessed contributions for these countries for the 1998 budget (calendar) year are:

Country Dfl Percentage
France 8,152,650 6.5
Germany 11,505,414 9.06
USA 30,611,125 25.00
Japan 19,873,671 15.65

Note: Dfl 3.376 = £1 on 12 March 1998

These percentage contributions will decrease slightly as more signatories accede to the Convention over the next few years, for which assessed contributions have yet to be determined.

Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the cost of disposing of Russian chemical weapons stocks; and how much of that cost in(a) cash terms and (b) as a percentage of the total will be covered by (i) the UK, (ii) France, (iii) Germany, (iv) the USA and (v) Japan. [33941]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

The Chemical Weapons Convention makes clear that the responsibility for chemical weapons destruction rests with the possessor state. Without prejudice to this principle, the EU has pledged up to 15 million ECU of TACIS (Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States) funding for projects in chemical weapon destruction-related areas. A number of countries have also offered bilateral assistance, including the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden. We do not have precise or detailed figures for those countries' offers of assistance, but the total amount of foreign (non-Russian) assistance so far represents only a small proportion of the overall costs—estimated by Russia at more than US$4 billion.

Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; and if he will make a statement. [33943]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

Neither my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary nor I have met the Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Dr. Bustani. But we maintain regular contact with him and his staff through our Embassy in The Hague.

Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on negotiations on a compliance and verification regime for the Biological Weapons Convention. [33945]

Mr. Tony Lloyd

The most recent session of the Ad Hoc Group of States Parties, which is negotiating verification and compliance Protocol to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention, took place in Geneva from 9–13 March. The UK is playing a leading role in these negotiations. At our initiative, the European Union agreed on 5 March a Common Position which makes clear our determination to promote decisive progress in the negotiations in the course of this year. We believe—not least in the light of the revelations of Iraq's extensive biological weapons programme—that strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention is both urgent and achievable.