§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are in place to help protect Iraq's cultural heritage after the planned official handover of power in Iraq on 30 June. [178126]
§ Mr. RammellCoalition Provisional Authority (CPA) advisers to the Iraqi Ministry of Culture have been working hard to enable the Ministry to assume responsibility for its own administration. It has now done this and we welcome the reappointment of Mufid al-Jazairi as the Minister.
The Ministry has begun implementation of an Archaeological Site Protection Plan and the CPA and Iraq State Board of Antiquities and Heritage are working together to build an archaeological site patrol force.
In the past year the CPA has also instituted security measures at the Iraq Museum, Baghdad, and believes that these measures will suffice to protect it in future. Security upgrades have been undertaken in the Mosul Museum. No other archaeological museums now contain original objects.
We expect to see future exchanges between Iraqi and international conservationists highlight further areas for co-operation between experts.
§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has asked the United States Central Intelligence Agency if it will give permission for the release of communications made by the CIA to Her Majesty's Government in respect of reservations held by the CIA over claims that Iraq had sought uranium from Niger, following the public testimony by the CIA Director George Tenet on 11 July 2003. [178727]
§ Mr. StrawI am withholding details of intelligence exchanges with the CIA under exemptions 1(b) and (c) of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
§ Mr. AncramTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his written answer of 26 May 2004,Official Report, column 1636W, on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), whether, in his meeting with the President of the ICRC in Geneva on 18 March, the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (a) was made aware of and (b) raised the issue of allegations concerning the treatment of prisoners in Iraq by Coalition forces other than British forces. [179099]
992W
§ Mr. StrawThe President of the ICRC, Dr. Kellenberger did mention briefly to my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Rammell) in their meeting on 18 March that the February ICRC report contained allegations concerning treatment of detainees by forces other than UK forces, though naturally the part of their discussion which covered detainees in Iraq focused on specific allegations against UK forces. The Minister discussed the concerns raised by Dr. Kellenberger with officials on his return to London. Officials had already received assurances that US investigations were under way into allegations of abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib prison.
§ Glenda JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 17 May 2004,Official Report, columns 748–49W, on Iraq, what inquiries are being conducted by the Coalition Provisional Authority into the prison facilities specified in the International Committee of the Red Cross report. [175773]
§ Mr. RammellThe Coalition Provisional Authority is not responsible for the US and UK detention facilities which were the subject of the ICRC report.