To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Her Majesty's Armed Forces in Afghanistan can operate with allies that impose restrictions on the use of their forces there; whether they have made representations to the NATO Secretary-General to have such restrictions lifted or amended; which countries have such restrictions; and what they are. [HL560]

The UK works very effectively with International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) partners in southern Afghanistan. While some nations impose caveats based on their national politics, domestic laws and risk tolerance, these caveats are a decision for individual nations.

Caveats are agreed between contributing nations and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe as conditions for their deployment. Their public disclosure could have an impact on force protection measures or a nation's ability to carry out its mission effectively. As such, they remain classified NATO information.