Written question asked by Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 8 June 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 16 June 2004. It was answered by Bill Rammell (Labour) on Wednesday, 16 June 2004 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To 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 30th June.

Answer: Mr. Don Foster: To 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. Rammell: Coalition 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.

Secondary information