§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps they are taking to persuade the de facto authorities in Afghanistan to observe the Geneva Conventions; and whether they will ask those authorities to facilitate the International Committee of the Red Cross in its duty of protecting prisoners of war and other captives. [HL1885]
§ 4. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos)The Foreign Secretary stressed the importance of humane behaviour by United Front forces when he met Dr Abdullah Abdullah in Tehran on 22 November and also when he spoke to him on the phone on 30 November. The British representative in Kabul has
Year as at 31 March Chief Const (2) Ast Chief Const (3) Supt Chief Insp Insp Sgt Const Total 1997 7 28 211 344 1,197 4,219 20,671 26,677 1998 8 28 211 342 1,186 4,164 20,156 26,094 1999 7 33 210 350 1,157 4,223 20,093 26,073 2000 6 31 217 371 1,218 4,171 19,471 25,485 2001 5 28 210 355 1,222 4,083 18,975 24,878 1. All figures are full time equivalents.
2. The Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and assistant commissioners are counted as chief constables.
3. Deputy assistant commissioners and commanders are counted as assistant chief constables.
Source: Home Office Statistical Bulletins 1997–2001.
Comparisons between 31 March 2000 and 31 March 2001 are affected by boundary changes between four forces. As a result, the Metropolitan Police's area reduced to that of Greater London, with the remaining parts forming parts of Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey, according to county boundaries. The effect was to reduce the population in the area policed by the metropolitan force by over half a million, while increasing Essex by 73,000, Hertfordshire by 157,000 and Surrey by 297,000 (based on 2000 mid-year population estimates from the Office of National Statistics). These changes led to the budgetary equivalent of 887 officers being made available from the metropolitan forces to the neighbouring forces.
In addition, the Metropolitan Police employed 10,040 civilian support staff on 31 March 2001.
2WA spoken in similar terms to other senior United Front representatives. The UN has also appealed to the United Front to treat surrendering forces in accordance with international humanitarian law. Security Council Resolution 1378 (2001) calls on all Afghan forces to adhere strictly to their obligations under human rights and international humanitarian law. International Committee of the Red Cross staff returned to Afghanistan in mid-November. and the United Front defence representative, Fahim Khan, has allowed the ICRC access to prisoners held by the United Front.
Applications for asylum from nationals of Sri Lanka, number granted refugee status at initial decision, by IAA adjudicators and tribunal following an initial refusal by the Home Office 1990 to Q3 20011.2 Year Asylum applications3 Initial decisions4 Recognised as a refugee and granted asylum Granted asylum or ELR under backlog criteria5 Allowed by IAA adjudicator fallowing initial refusal6 Allowed by tribunal 1990 3,330 475 15 — N/A N/A 1991 3,765 765 20 — N/A N/A 1992 2,085 4,520 40 — N/A N/A