HC Deb 25 February 2002 vol 380 cc721-3W
Jeremy Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations have been made to the Government of France concerning oil exploration licences in the western Sahara by French companies; and if he will make a statement. [36615]

Mr. Bradshaw

The issue of contracts for oil exploration in western Sahara signed by Morocco with US and French companies was referred by the President of the United Nations Security Council to the United Nations legal adviser, who concluded that the specific contracts at issue were "not in themselves illegal".

This matter has not been raised with the French Government.

Jeremy Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what meetings he and his officials have had with representatives of the Government of Morocco to discuss the occupation of the western Sahara; and if he will make a statement. [36625]

Mr. Bradshaw

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs met His Excellency Mohammed Benaissa, the Foreign Minister of Morocco, during his visit to the UK on 21 February 2002.

They discussed the situation in western Sahara. My right hon. Friend stated our position: that we continue to support the efforts of James Baker, the Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary General, in trying to find a just and durable resolution to the dispute.

Jeremy Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the expenditure in each of the past five years by the UK Government have been on the western Sahara people by(a) bilateral projects, (b) UN arrangements and (c) direct funding; and what is expected for the next financial year. [36627]

Mr. Bradshaw

UK Government expenditure on the western Sahara people under UN arrangements for the past five years is as follows:

£
1996–97 641,173
1997–98 934,360
1998–99 2,369,371
1999–2000 1,014,550
2000–01 1,984,177

In the next financial year, the expenditure is expected to be £2,018,815.

I refer my hon. Friend to the Secretary of State for International Development for information on expenditure on the other categories.

Jeremy Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he and his officials have had with the UN Secretary-General and his special representative concerning the future of the western Sahara; and if he will make a statement. [36626]

Mr. Bradshaw

The Secretary-General recently reported to the UN Security Council on his continuing discussions with the parties in the dispute concerning western Sahara. In these discussions he has been supported by James Baker his Personal Envoy.

He observed that the parties, despite assertions to the contrary, had not been willing to co-operate with the UN either to implement the Settlement Plan or to try a `political solution' to their dispute. He set out four options and recommended that the council extend MINURSO's mandate for two months while these were considered. The options were:

Option 1

The UN could try and resume implementation of the Settlement Plan, but without requiring the concurrence of the parties before action could be taken. The UN could still face the same problems it had already encountered and might not be able to hold a free and fair referendum whose results would be accepted by both sides. There remained the issue that there was no enforcement mechanism set out in the plan.

Option 2

Mr. James Baker, the Personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General, could revise the draft Framework Agreement, taking into account the concerns expressed by the parties. But Mr. Baker would not seek their concurrence. The revised draft would be submitted to the council, and would then be presented to the parties on a non-negotiable basis.

Option 3

The council could ask Mr. Baker to explore with the parties one final time whether they would be willing to discuss a possible division of the territory, under his usual negotiating rule of nothing agreed until everything was agreed. If this option were chosen and the parties were unwilling to agree to a division by 1 November 2002, Mr. Baker should be asked to show the parties a proposal for division of the territory that would also be presented to the council. The council would then present this to the parties on a non-negotiable basis. This approach would give each side some, but not all, of what it wanted and would follow the precedent, but not necessarily the territorial arrangements, of the division agreed to in 1976 between Morocco and Mauritania.

Option 4

The council could decide to terminate MINURSO, thereby recognising and acknowledging that after more than 11 years and half a billion dollars expenditure that the UN was not going to solve the dispute without requiring that one or the other of the parties do something voluntarily that they did not wish to do.

In responding to the Secretary-General's report the UK will agree to the two month roll-over of the MINURSO mandate to allow consideration of the options. The UK position remains as previously stated, that we continue to support the efforts of Mr. Baker in trying to find a just and durable resolution to the dispute.