§ Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are being taken in Iraq to establish(a) security, (b) effective policing and (c) the rule of law. [110973]
§ Mr. IngramI have been asked to reply.
Improving the security environment across Iraq remains a key priority for the Coalition Provisional Authority. Coalition forces continue to conduct up to 2,500 daily patrols, about 10 per cent. of which are joint patrols with the Iraqi police, arresting or detaining those suspected of criminal activities, including looting.
There are now 30,000 operational Iraqi police officers across the country, and the number continues to increase. The Coalition continues its efforts to prepare them for their role in a self-governed Iraq.
Courts and prisons are beginning to function. On 17 June, the Coalition Provisional Authority opened a new Iraqi Judicial College and announced the creation of a Judicial Review Committee and the establishment of a Central Criminal Court.
§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the(a) locations and (b) dates of visits by the survey group in Iraq searching for weapons of mass destruction. [120099]
§ Mr. HoonI have been asked to reply.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 April 2003, Official Report, columns 315–16W, to the Member for Southport (Mr. Pugh).
The Coalition has several hundred sites we wish to examine and further sites are being identified as investigations develop. Investigations may require more than one visit to certain sites. The process of visiting and examining the sites and other evidence will not be quick, and the number of sites visited or left to visit is not an indication of the success of the task at hand.
As the government has already made clear, we will aim to make public our findings where appropriate.
§ Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the International Atomic Energy Agency invited the Government to provide evidence to counter the International Atomic Energy Agency conclusion in its 7 March Report to the UN Security Council that the allegations that Iraq sought to procure uranium from Africa were unfounded. [121670]
§ Mr. MacShaneNo.
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§ Joan RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the women's organisations which have been invited by the Coalition Provisional Authority to take part in the women's conference in Baghdad in early July. [122214]
§ Mr. Rammell[holding answer of 30 June 2003]: The women's conference in early July is being organised by a steering group of Iraqi women. They are leading the event, which the Coalition Provisional Authority is helping to facilitate. Saddam Hussein proscribed, after 1991, all women's NGOs (although those in the Kurdish areas continued to function). Therefore it is predominantly individual women who will participate in this conference, as it will take time for women's groups to emerge in Iraq following the collapse of the former regime.
§ Joan RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the terms of reference are of the women's conference organised by the Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad in early July. [122215]
§ Mr. Rammell[holding answer 30 June 2003]: The one-day women's conference in Baghdad in early July is being organised by a steering group of seven Iraqi women, who were elected by a group of 40 women at a meeting in May to take forward the process. The steering group comprises women from different backgrounds and with varied skills. The Coalition Provisional Authority is helping to facilitate the event. Workshops will focus on gender-related issues for the writing of a new Constitution and legal reform, plus education, health policy and the economy and employment.