§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what monitoring systems are in place to guarantee that UK manufactured and licensed equipment, components and spares are not used against civilians in Israel's Occupied Territories; and if he will make a statement. [R] [19563]
§ Mr. BradshawWe assess all export licensed applications on a case-by-case basis against the consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria in light of circumstances prevailing at the time. We are keeping the situation under close review. We have no evidence that equipment manufactured in the UK and licensed for export by this Government has been used by Israeli forces against civilians in the Occupied Territories during the recent and continuing violence. We would be concerned if such evidence came to light.
We use information supplied by a number of sources to check that British equipment is not being used against Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, including information gathered by our embassy and non-governmental organisations among others.
However, the surest way of preventing UK defence exports from being misused is to refuse an export licence if it is assessed that an unacceptable risk of misuse or diversion exists, among other reasons. To this end, the Government have also taken steps to strengthen the process of risk assessment when considering export licence applications for any destination. For example, we have improved our procedures for gathering information on end-users of potential concern from UK overseas posts. We also take into account reliable information received about end-users of concern from a variety of external sources, including international reporting bodies and non-governmental organisations.
§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government are taking to encourage the setting up of an international monitoring presence in Israel's Occupied Territories; what specific proposals have been put forward by the British Government; and if he will make a statement. [R] [19564]
§ Mr. BradshawWe condemn the suicide bomb attacks in Israel over the weekend, and regret the cycle of violence now taking place in the region. It is clear that Israel and the Palestinians must return to dialogue as the only means of securing a just and lasting peace in the middle east. It remains our view that third-party monitoring, accepted by both parties, would serve their interests in implementing the Mitchell recommendations.472W In common with the US and our EU partners, we stand ready to contribute to monitoring if both parties agree to their presence.