§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary. of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what 225W representations he has received on the forced repatriation of Chechen internally displaced persons from their displacement camps in Ingushetia; and if he will make a statement. [91766]
§ Mr. MacShaneThe UK has played a prominent role in international efforts to press the Russian Government to halt the closure of internally displaced persons camps in the North Caucasus. Bilaterally, we have informed the Russian Government that the suspension of food, water and energy supplies to the camps constituted, in our view, a forced closure and reminded Russia of her obligations under the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. The UK has also initiated and helped draft a number of EU demarches, calling for the closure of the camps to be stopped. We were therefore encouraged by President Putin's statement last month that the closures should be halted. However, we will continue to monitor the situation closely and take further action if necessary.