Lord Sheikh asked Her Majesty’s Government:

What recent efforts they have made to persuade other NATO members to reduce the number of caveats in some countries’ rules of engagement in Afghanistan. [HL5097]

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Malloch-Brown): My right honourable friends the Foreign Secretary, the Defence Secretary and other Ministers are in regular contact with NATO members to discuss all aspects of Allied contributions to Afghanistan, including national caveats. The UK has also fully supported efforts made by NATO itself to keep these caveats to a minimum in order to give commanders on the ground greater operational flexibility. It is noteworthy that France and Germany reduced the caveats on their Afghanistan deployments following the NATO summit in Riga on 28 and 29 November 2006.