§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what action the Government is taking outside the UN to ascertain information regarding the alleged breaches of the OECD guidelines on multinational enterprises by UK companies referred to in the UN Panel of Experts' report on resource exploitation in the DRC; [85630]
(2) what the response was from the UN to the Government's request for information from the UN Panel of Experts on the illegal exploitation of natural resources of the DRC regarding the alleged breach of OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises committed by UK companies; [85748]
(3) what information has been requested by the Government from the UN Panel of Experts of resource exploitation in the DRC regarding the alleged breach of OECD guidelines by United Kingdom companies; and on which (a) individuals and (b) companies information has been requested; [85749]
736W(4) when the Government first requested information from the UN Panel of Experts on the illegal exploitation of natural resources of the DRC regarding alleged breaches of the OECD guidelines for multinational enterprises committed by United Kingdom companies as listed in Annex III of their report; and to whom this request was made. [85747]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonWe are seeking more information from the UN panel before considering what action we might want to take.
The UK, along with other members of the Security Council, has asked for more information on the claims made in the Panel's latest report. We have asked specifically for information on the allegations made against UK companies and nationals. We have yet to receive this material.
The current Panel's mandate expired when it submitted its last report (18 October 2002). There is currently no mechanism or process in place to take forward the Panel's work. We are pressing, through discussions at the UN, for a speedy resolution to this administrative problem.
We have asked for details of the basis for designating the 12 British companies appearing in Annex III. Annex III is a list of all the entities the Panel considers to be in breach of OECD guidelines. None of these entities are individuals.
The United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations requested additional information from the UN Panel of Experts about companies allegedly in breach of OECD guidelines in Security Council consultations on 24 October 2002.