HL Deb 11 March 1999 vol 598 cc47-8WA
Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, as reportedly stated by the Albanian Foreign Minister, Mr. Paskal Milo, the United States at Rambouillet (or elsewhere) has guaranteed the NATO presence in Kosovo, which will support the establishment of democratic institutions in the transitional period and has guaranteed that the UCK (the Kosovo Liberation Army) would be assisted in its professionalisation and adjustment of Kosovo's political and military life by becoming part of the Kosovo military forces, with direct funding from the United States and with an official in the United States State Department designated to carry out this work; and, if so, whether these arrangements (a) have been agreed by the Contact Group; (b) explicitly form part of the Rambouillet agreements that the Serbian authorities have been invited to agree; or (c) are compatible with the arms control provisions of those agreements. [HL1341]

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

This is a question that should be addressed to the Government of the United States.

Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What information, as members of the Contact Group, they have concerning the sources of weapons, training, supplies and funding for the Kosovo Liberation Army in recent months; whether there is to be any limitation on such provisions; and, if so, how such limitations are to be enforced. [HL1342]

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Media and other reports suggest that Kosovo Albanians living in Europe and elsewhere are actively involved in fund-raising for the UCK. The Contact Group have no firm evidence concerning sources of weapons and training.

Under UN Security Council Resolution 1160 all states are obliged to prevent the sale or supply to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, including Kosovo, of arms and related material, and arming or training for terrorist activities there.

Our responsibilities under this resolution are clear. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (United Nations Sanctions) Order 1998 implemented the arms embargo imposed by the Resolution in UK law. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (United Nations Sanctions) (Amendment) Order 1999 came into effect on 12 February. The order makes it an offence to provide training or training facilities to assist in the carrying out of acts of terrorism in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, whether the training takes place outside or inside the United Kingdom.