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To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to alter his policy on arms exports to Morocco; and if he will make a statement.

Asked by

Damian Green (Conservative)

Answering body

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

29 March 2001

Reference

365 c743W; 155732

House

House of Commons

Sainsbury of Turville, Lord

What licences they have approved since May 1997 for refurbishment of weapons on behalf of the Moroccan Government; what these weapons were; and whether they were supplied by a United Kingdom manufacturers. [HL 621]. - Includes ref to Export of Goods (Control) Regulations 1994.

Asked by

Lord Avebury (Liberal Democrat)

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

19 March 2001

Reference

HL 621; 623 c132WA

House

House of Lords

Ramsay of Cartvale, Baroness

Whether they will make representations to the authorities in Morocco for the release of Mr Steven Bryant in view of the fact that it is likely that he has spent more time in a Moroccan gaol for drug offences than would be expected if he had been dealt with by...

Asked by

Earl Attlee (Conservative)

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

19 March 2001

Reference

HL 1028; 623 c122WA

House

House of Lords

Ramsay of Cartvale, Baroness

Whether they have received any indications of when Mr Steven Bryant will be released from a Moroccan gaol. [HL 1029]. - Includes figures.

Asked by

Earl Attlee (Conservative)

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

19 March 2001

Reference

HL 1029; 623 c122WA

House

House of Lords

Ramsay of Cartvale, Baroness

Whether there is any prospect of Mr Steven Bryant serving a proportion of his Moroccan prison sentence in a United Kingdom gaol. [HL 1030].

Asked by

Earl Attlee (Conservative)

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

19 March 2001

Reference

HL 1030; 623 c122WA

House

House of Lords

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his Answer of 1st March, Official Report, 363 c735-6W, on arms exports, on what dates in 1998, at which locations, and at what levels contacts were made between his Department and MINURSO; which department of the UN...

Asked by

Tess Kingham (Labour)

Answering body

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

19 March 2001

Reference

154488; 365 c68W

House

House of Commons

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions took place between his Department and (a) the United Nations and (b) MINURSO regarding the legality of permitting the refurbishment of Moroccan 105 mm guns situated in Western Sahara; on what dates these discussion took place; with...

Asked by

Tess Kingham (Labour)

Answering body

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

19 March 2001

Reference

154489; 365 c68W

House

House of Commons

Dept of Trade and Industry

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, when the British Government issued an export licence to Royal Ordinance for the refurbishment of 30 105mm Moroccan guns in Western Sahara; who approved the export licence application for the refurbishment of 105mm Moroccan guns in Western Sahara; if Royal...

Asked by

Jeremy Corbyn (Labour)

Answering body

Department of Trade and Industry

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

8 February 2001

For answer on

15 March 2001

Answered on

15 March 2001

Mr. Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the British Government issued an export licence to Royal Ordinance for the refurbishment of 30 105mm Moroccan guns in Western Sahara; who approved the export licence application for the refurbishment of 105mm Moroccan guns in Western Sahara; if Royal Ordinance (BAE Systems) completed the refurbishment of 105mm Moroccan guns in Western Sahara; what export licences have been approved for weapons or spares in Western Sahara since 1997; what export licence applications have been refused to Morocco since 1997; on what grounds they were refused; on what occasions the United Nations has been consulted about approving export licence applications to Morocco since 1997; and if the terms of the UN Peace Plan take primacy over the EU Code of Conduct for approving export licence applications to Morocco. [150250] Dr. Howells: [holding answer 13 February 2001]: On 12 July 1999 the DTI issued a standard individual export licence to Royal Ordnance to export equipment to Morocco for the refurbishment of guns. The licence was reported in the 1999 Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls. All licences to export arms and other goods whose export is controlled for strategic reasons are issued by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry acting through DTI's Export Control Organisation (ECO). All relevant individual licence applications are circulated by the DTI to other Government Departments with an interest as determined by those Departments in line with their policy responsibilities. These include the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development. While in general the ECO maintains records of licence applications, it does not in general compile records of actual shipments. Moreover, where the licence is for refurbishment, ECO does not monitor whether the refurbishment has been carried out. The export of weapons and weapons spares are controlled under entries ML1, ML2, ML4, ML5, ML12, ML18, ML19, ML21, ML22, PL5002, PL5006, PL5017, PL5018 and PL5030 in the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994 (the EG(C)O). The entry in the EG(C)O under which the export of goods is controlled is known as their rating. Details of export licensing decisions between 2 May 1997 and 31 December 1999 have been set out in the Government's Annual Reports on Strategic Export Controls copies of which are in the Library of the House. These Reports list by country of destination the export licences issued and refused in each equipment category and gives details of the military equipment for which licences have been granted. They also set out the value of defence exports to each country. Between 1 January 2000 and 2 February 2001, six Standard Individual Export Licences (SIELs) and three Open Individual Export Licences (OIELs) were issued covering the export to consignees or end-users in Morocco of goods with the relevant ratings. Individual licences may cover a range of goods with various ratings. Where this is so, the licence is included in the total for all of the relevant ratings. Individual Licences issued between 1 January 2000 and 2 February 2001 covering the export to Morocco of goods on the Military List{ 1} _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Rating Number of SIELs issued covering goods with Number of OIELs issued covering goods with this rating this rating ML1 3 0 ML2 4 0 ML4 1 0 ML5 0 2 ML12 0 0 ML18 0 0 ML19 0 0 ML21 0 0 ML22 1 1 PL5002 0 0 PL5006 1 0 PL5017 1 1 PL5018 0 0 PL5030 0 0 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} Each licence may cover a range of ratings, and where this is so, data on them are included under each of the relevant ratings. In addition, Morocco is a permitted destination on certain Open General Export Licences for the export of goods on the Military List; copies of all Open General Export Licences are placed in the Library of the House. Between 2 May 1997 and 31 December 1999 only one application, for the refurbishment of 105mm guns and supply of new guns, was refused to Morocco, on the grounds that issuing the licence would contravene Criterion 4 of the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports. After the company appealed, the part of the application for the refurbishment of guns was granted. However the refusal of the part of the licence application in respect of the proposed sale of new guns was upheld. Between 1 January 2000 and 2 February 2001, no applications for a SIEL and no applications for an OIEL were refused covering the export to consignees or end-users in Morocco of goods with the relevant ratings. HMG does not seek UN approval when issuing export licences to non-embargoed destinations. There is no UN arms embargo on Morocco. HMG did not therefore seek UN approval in this case. However, where the UN has an interest in a region HMG may--as was done in this case--consult the UN. The information provided by the UN will be taken into account by HMG when deciding whether to issue an export licence. The terms of the UN Peace Plan do not take primacy over the EU Code of Conduct for approving export licence applications to Morocco. All export licence applications whether for Morocco or elsewhere are considered against the now consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria.

Date

15 March 2001

Reference

364 c669-71W; 150250

House

House of Commons

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what consideration he gave to the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports in deciding to issue a licence for the refurbishment of Moroccan heavy artillery in occupied Western Sahara.

Asked by

Hilary Benn (Labour)

Answering body

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

15 March 2001

Reference

153672; 364 c677W

House

House of Commons

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department followed the European Code of Conduct on arms sales, Criterion 4, when granting the export licence for artillery spare parts to Morocco.

Asked by

Baroness Tonge (Liberal Democrat)

Answering body

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

13 March 2001

Reference

149615; 364 c549W

House

House of Commons

Strategic export controls: annual report for 1999 and parliamentary prior scrutiny. Defence Select Committee third report, Foreign Affairs Select Committee third report, International Development Select Committee second report and Trade and Industry Select Committee seventh report, with proceedings, evidence (HC 212 - i not printed separately) and appendices.

Type

Select Committee reports; House of Commons papers; Parliamentary committees

Committee

Defence Committee; Trade and Industry Committee; Foreign Affairs Committee; International Development Committee

Notes

Received 22.02.01

Date

6 March 2001

Reference

HC 212 2000/01

House

House of Commons

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he will reply substantively to the questions from the honourable Member for Gloucester tabled on 31st January. - Ref to 363 c735-6W.

Asked by

Tess Kingham (Labour)

Answering body

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

5 March 2001

Reference

152150; 364 c100W

House

House of Commons

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions took place between his Department and the United Nations in New York concerning the granting of UK arms export licences for the refurbishment of guns situated in Western Sahara; on what date; and who took part in...

Asked by

Tess Kingham (Labour)

Answering body

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

31 January 2001

For answer on

1 March 2001

Answered on

1 March 2001

Ms Kingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what discussions took place between his Department and the United Nations in New York concerning the granting of UK arms export licences for the refurbishment of guns situated in Western Sahara; on what date; and who took part in the discussions; [148691] (2) if the mandate of MINURSO includes a duty to oversee the refurbishment of Moroccan guns in Western Sahara; and what discussions his Department has had on this subject with (a) the United Nations and (b) other interested parties; [148690] (3) what reports he has received concerning direct approaches from UK arms manufacturers to the United Nations concerning (a) Her Majesty's Government's refusal to permit the sale of spare parts for the refurbishment of Moroccan guns on Western Sahara and (b) the subsequent appeal against this refusal; [148687] (4) what correspondence has passed between his Department and the United Nations staff in (a) New York, (b) Morocco and (c) Tindouf concerning UK arms export licences for the provision of spare parts to refurbish Moroccan guns for use in Western Sahara; [148693] (5) what discussions have taken place between his Department and the United Nations, including MINURSO, in (a) Morocco, (b) Western Sahara and (c) Tindouf concerning the granting of UK arms export licences for the refurbishment of guns situated in Western Sahara; on what dates; and who was involved in the discussions; [148692] (6) what (a) discussions have taken place and (b) correspondence been exchanged between his Department and the United Nations concerning the capability of MINURSO to oversee the refurbishment of Moroccan guns situated in Western Sahara; [148688] (7) what objections have been made by the United Nations to the Government concerning the Government's refusal of arms export licences for spare parts to refurbish Moroccan guns situated in Western Sahara; on what date; what the nature of the representations was; and what his Department's response was. [148689] Mr. Wilson: [holding answer 5 February 2001]: Foreign and Commonwealth Office and United Nations officials routinely discuss a wide range of issues relating to Western Sahara in New York and the region. As set out in the Secretary of State's evidence to the Quadripartite Committee on 30 January, in 1998 a British company applied for an export licence in order, inter alia, to refurbish Moroccan guns in Western Sahara. In late 1998, as a result of contacts between Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials and MINURSO in the region, Ministers came to the preliminary view that, if Moroccan guns were refurbished, this would not violate the terms of the UN-sponsored cease-fire between Morocco and the Polisario Front which has been in place since 1991. The UN told FCO officials in April 1999 that refurbishment could be considered as neutral. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials also understand that, under the terms of the Military Agreement signed between MINURSO and Morocco and MINURSO and Polisario, MINURSO would play a role in monitoring the process of refurbishing the guns. In discussions between Foreign and Commonwealth Office and United Nations officials in New York this subject was referred to on 1 February 1999, 16 February 1999, 23 February 1999, 3 March 1999, 21 and 28 May 1999 and 21 June 1999. On 21 June 1999, the United Nations Department for Peace Keeping Operations in New York confirmed that refurbishment of the guns would not be in breach of the existing military arrangements between MINURSO and the two parties; and that, in accordance with these arrangements, MINURSO would be in a position to monitor the procedure of the refurbishment of the Moroccan guns on the ground. This is set out in Military Agreement between the two parties and MINURSO of 1997. It is not for the United Nations to object or not to any refusal by HMG of an arms export licence. The United Nations role is to monitor the cease-fire between the two parties. We are not aware of any direct approaches from the UK arms manufacturers to the United Nations concerning refurbishment of Moroccan guns in Western Sahara. However, in their letter of appeal of 1 October 1998, the applicant asserted that refurbishment did not contravene the cease-fire and that MINURSO could monitor any refurbishment.

Date

1 March 2001

Reference

363 c735-6W; 148691;148690;148687;148693;148692;148688;148689

House

House of Commons

WESTERN SAHARA

That this House deplores the issuing of an arms export licence for the refurbishment of Moroccan heavy artillery in occupied Western Sahara; is concerned by the support the United Nations gave for this licence; believes Her Majesty's Government has contravened the EU Code of Conduct on Arms Exports; and calls...

Primary sponsor

Jeremy Corbyn (Labour)

Type

Early day motions

Date

8 February 2001

Reference

313

House

House of Commons

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations have been made to the Government of Morocco concerning the future Government of Western Sahara.

Asked by

Jeremy Corbyn (Labour)

Answering body

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

20 December 2000

Reference

360 c201W; 143417

House

House of Commons

Goods Vehicles (Authorisation of International Journeys) (Fees) Regulations 2000

SI 2000/3207 (Negative instrument). Coming into force 1 January 2001.

Department

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

Type

Statutory instruments

Date

7 December 2000

Reference

SI 2000/3207

House

House of Commons; House of Lords

Librarians' tools

Type

House

Session

Year

Department

Member

Primary member

Answering member

Legislative stage

Legislation

Subject

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