here - United Kingdom Parliament

1257W
Written Answers
6 JUNE 2013
Written Answers
1258W
with him covering the full range of issues highlighted by
Mr Quintana in his reporting, including the issue of
political prisoners.
We welcome the creation by the Burmese Government
of a committee on political prisoners and note the
range of independent civil society organisations taking
part. This committee builds on earlier steps by the
Burmese Government to grant access to prisoners and
prisons to the International Committee for the Red
Cross, something for which we consistently lobbied. It
will be important that all cases are reviewed promptly,
impartially and transparently and we will be watching
developments closely.
Fiona O’Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion
of grants provided by the British embassy in Rangoon
were allocated to projects which promote human rights
in the latest period for which figures are available.
[158324]
Mr Swire: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of
5 June 2013, Official Report, column 1121W.
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress
has been made on negotiations on the comprehensive
nuclear test ban treaty. [158403]
Alistair Burt: The comprehensive test ban treaty (CTBT)
was adopted by the UN General Assembly in September
1996 but has not yet entered into force.
159 states have ratified the CTBT. However, the CTBT
requires all 44 states named in Annex II of the treaty to
ratify it for it to enter into force. At present eight of the
Annex II states have not ratified the CTBT (USA,
China, India, Pakistan, Israel, Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea, Iran and Egypt).
The UK has long been a supporter of the CTBT,
being the first country, along with France, to sign and
ratify the treaty in 1996 and 1998 respectively. We
continue to push for the eight remaining Annex II states
to ratify the treaty through bilateral discussions, discussions
in multilateral forums, and our support to build the
monitoring capacity and verification regime of the CTBT
organisation in Vienna.
European Gendarmerie Force
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs under what
circumstances the European Gendarmerie Force would
be used in the UK. [158399]
Mr Lidington: 1 cannot foresee any circumstances
under which the European Gendarmerie Force (EGF)
would be used in the UK.
Nuclear Disarmament
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent progress
has been made on negotiations on the Strategic Arms
Reduction Treaty. [158406]
Alistair Burt: The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
(START) and New START are bilateral treaties between
the USA and Russia.
Both countries’ delegations made statements at the
recent Non-Proliferation Preparatory Committee meeting
in Geneva in April 2013. These can be found on the UN
website:
http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/NPT2015/
PrepCom2013/
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent
progress has been made on negotiations on the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty. [158405]
Alistair Burt: The Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty
(NPT) was opened for signature in July 1968, and
entered into force in 1970. Review Conferences are held
every five years, to review the operation of the Treaty,
with Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) meetings also
held in the three years preceding the Review Conference.
In April - May 2013, the second PrepCom for this
review cycle was held among state parties, under the
Chairmanship of Coronel Ferruta of Romania. The
main issues for debate were around disarmament, the
proliferation challenges of Iran and the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea, and the conference planned
on the establishment of a Middle East Weapons of
Mass Destruction Free Zone. The UK statements are
available on the UN website:
http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/NPT2015/
PrepCom2013/
Nuclear Weapons
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent
progress has been made on negotiations on the Fissile
Material Cut-Off Treaty. [158404]
Alistair Burt: The Government wants negotiations to
start in the Conference on Disarmament (CD) on a
fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT). We continue to
work with partners in the CD to press Pakistan to end
its block on the start of negotiations.
We supported the resolution at last year’s UN General
Assembly (UNGA) First Committee to create a group
of government experts (GGE) to discuss the issues
surrounding a FMCT. We hope that this will prove to
be a useful mechanism to kick- start negotiations within
the CD.
The UN Office for Disarmament Affairs sent a request
to member states in January asking for views on a
FMCT to inform preparations for the GGE. A copy of
the UK’s note to the UN has been placed in the Library
of the House.
Taiwan: Philippines
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he
has received on the incident on 9 May 2013 involving a
Taiwanese vessel and a Filipino vessel, resulting in the
death of Mr Hon Shi-cheng, a Taiwanese fisherman;
and if he will make a statement. [158358]