§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the number of United Kingdom personnel working with Iraqi ministries (a) before 30 June and (b) since 30 June. [188344]
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§ Mr. RammellOn 1 June, there were some 180 UK personnel working for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, and who were involved in restructuring or assisting Iraqi Ministries or other Iraqi institutions. By the end of September there will be some 35 UK personnel working with Iraqi Ministries, 36 working with Iraqi Governorates or other institutions, and 87 assisting with police and prison training.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department is providing for(a) the establishment of systems of criminal and civil justice in Iraq and (b) the new Iraqi governments. [188349]
§ Mr. RammellWe are providing support in Basra to strengthen the overall capacity of the criminal justice institutions by funding a training seminar to streamline co-operation and communication between the Iraqi police, prison service and judiciary at the provincial and national level. We are also providing six prisons advisors in the south to work with the Iraqi Correctional Service to improve standards and procedures.
We are providing capacity building assistance for the Iraq Special Tribunal tasked with bringing to justice members of the former regime suspected of committing war crimes. This includes support for training judges, prosecutors and court administrative staff.
The Department for International Development is also providing assistance to the judiciary including training for judges in international human rights standards. All other reasonable requests for assistance from the Iraqi Interim Government are considered.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support his Department is providing to the Iraqi Special Tribunal. [188350]
§ Mr. RammellWe have allocated £1.3 million for a capacity building assistance programme for the Iraqi Special Tribunal. This includes supporting training of a full Iraqi forensic team for the 1ST and training for judges and court administration staff.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with representatives of Islamic countries to encourage them to send troops to Iraq. [188356]
§ Mr. RammellThe UK has a regular dialogue with Islamic countries in the region and elsewhere on matters relating to Iraq, including possible military deployments. The UK welcomes any contribution to the Multi-National Force. Any decision on troop deployments to Iraq ultimately rests with the Iraqi Interim Government.