§ Lord Faulkner of Worcesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any goods subject to strategic export controls have recently been approved for export to Afghanistan. [HL98]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Amos)The Department for Trade and Industry recently issued an export licence for mine-clearance equipment for use by the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Assistance (UNOCHA) to assist their demining activities in Afghanistan. The goods are rated as Military Listed. UNSCR 1333 (2000), which imposes inter alia an arms embargo on Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, provides scope for the UN Sanctions Committee to approve of non-lethal military equipment intended solely for humanitarian or protective use to Taliban-controlled territory. The Sanctions Committee has given its approval in this case.
The granting of this export licence is fully consistent with the UN Security Council resolutions and does not affect the Government's continued support for the EU common position on arms exports to Afghanistan.