§ Mr. DismoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the deaths of Iranian law enforcement personnel in a clash with drug traffickers on 3 November. [100337]
§ Mr. BattleMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary greatly regrets these tragic deaths and sent a message of condolence to the Iranian Foreign Minister. They are another very distressing reflection of the efforts and commitment that Iran has made to combat the narcotics trade.
Hon. Members will recall that, in March this year, the UK donated £300,000 to the United Nations International Drugs Control Programme to provide Iranian frontier personnel with 1,020 bullet proof vests. I should like to announce that, following discussions with the Iranian authorities in Tehran over the weekend, the Government are donating a further £1 million to UNDCP for projects in Iran and separately giving £150,000 of bilateral drugs assistance. The UNDCP programme covers training and equipment primarily to strengthen counter-narcotics work at Iran's borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Our proposed bilateral assistance covers training and equipment for the border with Turkey and airport controls, areas not covered by the UNDCP programme. Our overall assistance package will improve the capacity of Iranian drugs control agencies to combat the traffickers and to stop drugs entering and leaving Iran.
No suppliers have yet been nominated for the goods covered by this assistance package. The export from the UK of some of the goods concerned may be subject to control and an export licence might need to be granted if they are sourced from the UK. If such a licence were granted, this could constitute an exception to our arms embargo on Iran and would be announced.
§ Mr. CorbettTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the Iranian Government, and with what response, over the arrest and detention of those who took part in pro-democracy demonstrations in July. [100471]
§ Mr. HainMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised our concerns about these detentions with Foreign Minister Kharrazi during their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly on 21 September. He was told that should charges be brought against those detained, then they would receive a fair trial, and that any sentences would be subject to appeal.
A Resolution on the Human Rights situation in Iran was adopted on 18 November at the United Nations General Assembly. This resolution, tabled in conjunction with our EU partners, also underlined continuing international concern over these arrests.