HL Deb 21 December 2000 vol 620 cc82-3WA
Lord Hylton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they received information from Human Rights Watch, or other sources, about expulsions of Kurds and Turcomans from the Kirkuk region by the Government of Iraq, and about the increased population at refugee camps at Kani Shaiton and Chamchamal, in the Kurdish Autonomous Zone; and in what ways they consider that the situation can be improved. [HL113]

Baroness Scotland of Asthal

Her Majesty's Government have received information from a variety of sources about the Iraqi Government's repressive practice of deporting Kurds, Turcomen and Assyrians from the regions of Kirkuk and Khanaqin. This practice continues to create heavy refugee flows in the region. Together with our EU partners, we continue to condemn the appalling violations of human rights in Iraq through EU-sponsored resolutions at the UN General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights. The most recent resolution, adopted at the General Assembly earlier this month, called on Iraq to cease immediately its practice of forcible expulsions.