Iraq

HC Deb 25 March 2003 vol 402 cc119-21W

14. Mr. Bacon

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the situation in Iraq. [104472]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given earlier in the House today by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Liz Blackman).

20. Sandra Gidley

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what commitment he will make to compliance with UN Resolution 1325 in any post-conflict reconstruction in Iraq. [104478]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

We are fully committed to UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and are working on its implementation with the UN Secretariat, agencies and NGOs. We have mainstreamed gender into our peace-keeping and reconstruction activities, for instance in Afghanistan and Sierra Leone and expect to do the same in Iraq.

Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on when the Government of Iraq first used chemical weapons against its own people. [100072]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

Iraq used chemical weapons against its own people in the attack on Halabja in 1988. There are allegations that Iraq has used chemical weapons on other occasions. Given the circumstances in Iraq, Halabja is the only attack on Iraqi civilians which we have been able to verify beyond any doubt.

Mr. Kilfoyle

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times during the inspections in Iraq carried out prior to 1998 the Iraqi Government was recorded by the UN as non-cooperative, broken down by(a) minor delays and (b) actual inspection refusals. [103972]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

UNSCOM did not routinely report all instances of Iraqi non-cooperation. Only the more serious cases were formally reported. They did, however, regularly report that they were not receiving full cooperation from Iraq. Their regular reports to the UN Security Council and, more particularly, the final report produced by Richard Butler in March 1999, which is available in the House of Commons Library, show a systematic effort to frustrate inspectors throughout the 1990s.

Harry Cohen

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received a copy of the Iraqi declaration to the United Nations of 7 December 2002; if he will place a copy in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [104054]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

A copy of the declaration was provided to us by the United Nations a few days after it was produced by the Government of Iraq. It was subsequently studied in detail by officials.

I am withholding the information requested under exemption 1 C of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information (information received in confidence from Foreign Governments, Foreign Courts or International Organisations).

Mr. Rosindell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the governments of(a) Commonwealth countries and (b) British Overseas Territories regarding the crisis in Iraq. [104243]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

We regularly have discussions with Commonwealth Governments and those of the British Overseas Territories about a wide range of foreign policy issues, including the crisis in Iraq.

Lynne Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 18 March 2003,Official Report, column 725W, on Iraq, what action the Government have taken since UN Resolution 57/232 was passed to deploy human rights monitors in Iraq. [105031]

Mr. Mike O'Brien

Saddam Hussein's regime refused to allow human rights monitors to be stationed in Iraq, despite repeated urging by the international community. For the 10 years prior to February 2002, it would not even allow into Iraq the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights.