House of Commons Hansard Debates for 4 Apr 1990

Mr. Waldegrave : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs represented the Government at the Namibian independence celebrations on 21 March, and met President Nujoma and other Ministers. We strongly supported Namibia's entry into the Commonwealth. My right hon. Friend opened the new British high commission in Windhoek on 21 March and announced £10 million in bilateral aid over the next three years. We are also helping Namibia with military and police training, at President Nujoma's request.

21. Sir David Steel : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent talks he has had with the Government of Namibia about the status of Walvis bay.

Mr. Hurd : Walvis bay was one of a number of subjects discussed during my meeting with President Nujoma in Windhoek on 21 March.

22. Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requests he has received from Namibia for assistance in negotiations for the future of Walvis bay.

Mr. Waldegrave : The future of Walvis bay is a matter for discussion between the new Namibian Government and the Government of South Africa. We have not been asked to intervene in these negotiations.

85. Mr. Malcolm Bruce : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent talks the Minister has had with the Namibian Government on their economic situation.

Mr. Waldegrave : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs had wide-ranging talks with President Nujoma during his recent visit to Windhoek for the Namibian independence celebrations. They discussed economic issues, mainly in the context of Namibia's priority for aid.

South Africa

18. Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the role of the Commonwealth in ending apartheid in South Africa.

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Mr. Waldegrave : We believe that the international community, including the Commonwealth, should make a positive and practical response to the important changes taking place in South Africa.

Mr. Canavan : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent communications he has had with the Government of South Africa ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Waldegrave : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs met President de Klerk, Mr. Pik Botha and other South African Ministers in Cape Town on 19 March. They had useful talks which reinforced our views that the South African Government are committed to fundamental reform. He urged them to lift the state of emergency as soon as possible. He also met several opposition leaders in South Africa and saw some of the 250 aid projects which Britain is supporting to help prepare black South Africans for the future after apartheid. He made it clear to everyone he met that our aim is to see apartheid abolished and to help the development of a peaceful, prosperous and democratic South Africa.

German Unification

19. Mr. Skinner : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next expects to meet the West German Foreign Minister regarding reunification ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Waldegrave : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs met the West German Foreign Minister during the Anglo-German summit on 30 March, where they had useful discussions on a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including the external aspects of German reunification. They meet frequently and shall certainly do so again at, for example, NATO and EC meetings.

35. Mr. Wareing : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of the two plus four conference on the unification of Germany.

Mr. Waldegrave : Preparatory talks at official level were held in Bonn on 14 March in accordance with the mandate given by the Foreign Ministers of the Federal Republic of Germany, German Democratic Republic, France, United Kingdom, USSR and United States in Ottawa on 13 February. Officials discussed procedural questions and the agenda of future meetings. The next meeting will take place after the formation of a new German Democratic Republic Government.

45. Mr. Dykes : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's response to steps towards German reunification following the East German election results on 18 March.

Mr. Waldegrave : We have welcomed the GDR elections on 18 March as a great day for Europe and East Germany. We hope the two plus four talks can get down to substantive business as soon as the new democratically elected GDR Government are formed.

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67. Mr. Hind : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has any plans to meet the Foreign Minister of East Germany to discuss German unification ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Waldegrave : After the appointment of a new Foreign Minister for East Germany, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs looks forward to discussions of matters of mutual interest. He would, in any case, expect to meet him/her at the first meeting at ministerial level of the two plus four talks on the external aspects of German unification, for which, as yet, no date has been set.

Ivory

20. Miss Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the current state of the stockpiled ivory in Hong Kong.

Mr. Waldegrave : The latest available figure for the current stock of elephant ivory held in Hong Kong (to the nearest tonne) is 472 tonnes, 356 tonnes of which are available for trading.

EC Policies

23. Mr. Knox : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further proposals he intends to place before his European Community partners for the development of Community policies.

Mr. Maude : We have taken the lead in the Community on a wide range of issues, among them giving effect to the detailed measures called for in stage 1 of the Delors report on economic and monetary union ; the development of policy towards eastern Europe, strengthening the partnership between the US and the Community and urging rapid progress towards completing the single market.

We shall press our EC partners to continue to give top priority to completion of the 1992 programme, and to maintaining an outward-looking and liberal Community, in line with the commitments which we have secured in successive recent European Councils.

Hong Kong

24. Mr. Andrew MacKay : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next intends to visit Hong Kong.

Mr. Maude : I shall be visiting Hong Kong from 7 to 11 April.

Drugs Trade

25. Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance he intends to give to south Asian countries in their attempt to curb the international drugs trade.

Mr. Sainsbury : South Asia, as the principal source of heroin reaching the United Kingdom, is a priority area for our drugs-related assistance. We are currently funding large-scale, drugs-related projects, in both Pakistan and India, managed by the United Nations fund for drug abuse control.

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German Democratic Republic

26. Mr. Barry Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what message has been sent by his Department to the victors in last month's general election in the German Democratic Republic.

Mr. Waldegrave : We would expect to send a message to the new Foreign Minister of the GDR once a Government have been formed. We have welcomed the elections as a great day for Germany and for Europe.

37. Mr. Watts : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the elections in the German Democratic Republic.

Mr. Waldegrave : The elections in East Germany on 18 March were, as confirmed by foreign observers, free, fair and well organised. We have welcomed the elections as a great day for Europe and for Germany.

Brazil

27. Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the Government of Brazil about their development of ballistic missiles.

Mr. Waldegrave : None.

United Nations (Human Rights)

28. Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the last meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.

33. Mr. Eastham : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the last meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.

Mr. Sainsbury : The Commission on Human Rights is the major United Nations forum for discussion of human rights issues. At its last session from 29 January to 9 March it discussed a very large number of human rights problems and, in particular, adopted resolutions critical of the human rights situations in a number of countries. The wide range of views represented at the commission meant, however, that on a number of issues it did not go as far as we would have wished.

53. Mr. Martyn Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action he is taking following the last meeting of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.

Mr. Sainsbury : As a member of the commission the United Kingdom delegation played an active part in its work. We shall continue our efforts to promote respect for human rights and to urge compliance by all states with their international obligations.

Romania

29. Mr. Arbuthnot : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will take all possible steps to encourage free and fair elections in Romania.

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Mr. Waldegrave : We wish to encourage free and fair elections in Romania. To promote this we invited a group of members of the Romanian political parties to visit the United Kingdom in March to study our political and electoral systems. We hope to fund the visit to Romania of a group of up to 12 local government officers to observe the election campaign and poll on 20 May. We also welcome the decision of the IPU to send observers, and are encouraging the Romanians to invite observers from the Council of Europe. We have also contributed 118 tonnes of paper to a wide range of political parties for their use in the election campaign.

China

30. Mr. Viggers : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any current plans to visit Peking.

Mr. Maude : No.

Central America

31. Mr. Bradley : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to meet members of the Government of the United States to discuss human rights in central America.

63. Mr. Nicholas Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to meet the members of the Government of the United States to discuss human rights in central America.

78. Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to meet members of the Government of the United States to discuss human rights in central America.

Mr. Sainsbury : We have regular discussions with the United States Administration on a wide variety of subjects, including central America.

Eastern Europe (Electronics)

32. Mr. Stern : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will place in the Library the consolidated reports of observers sent to recent east European elections.

Mr. Waldegrave : I will gladly arrange for any such reports to be placed in the Library.

Baltic States

34. Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with officials and Ministers of the Soviet Union and Lithuanian Governments about the future of the Baltic states.

Mr. Waldegrave : We have recently taken a number of opportunities to make our concerns known to the Soviet Union. We have emphasised that it is vital that progress should be made through dialogue between the Soviet authorities and the Lithuanians, and that a settlement should be reached which is acceptable to both sides and which enables the Lithuanian people to decide their own future. We have stressed the need for restraint on all sides.

51. Mr. Anthony Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has received about the right to self-determination of Estonia and the other Baltic states.

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Mr. Waldegrave : We have received a number of representations about Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from individuals and interest groups in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Our views are clearly on record.

71. Mr. Atkinson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he has received any recent requests from the Baltic states in support of self-determination ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Waldegrave : Our criteria for recognition of a state were set out in an answer which I gave to the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Flynn) on 19 March. Our support for the right of the Baltic peoples to decide their own future is clearly on record.

Nicaragua

36. Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of whether the handover of power to the new democratically elected Government of Nicaragua is proceeding satisfactorily.

Mr. Sainsbury : Preparations for the transfer of power appear to be going well. The agreement of 27 March between transition teams clarifies some important points, notably on civilian control of the army. The agreement of 23 March between Contra leaders and representatives of the new Government on demobilisation of the Contras also gives grounds for optimism. We are, however, disturbed by reports that the Sandinistas are distributing weapons to loyal followers, stripping Government assets, depleting reserves, and voting for themselves privileges and immunities.

Middle East

38. Mr. Cyril D. Townsend : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Britain's contribution to finding a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

58. Mr. Latham : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the peace process in the middle east.

66. Mr. Ernie Ross : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to further peace in the middle east.

70. Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of peace negotiations in the middle east.

76. Mr. Corbett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of peace negotiations in the middle east.

80. Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress towards a peace settlement in the middle east.

84. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to help advance the peace process in the middle east.

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Mr. Waldegrave : We aim to encourage a dialogue between Israel and representative Palestinians as the first step towards a comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israel dispute. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs discussed the peace process with King Hussein last month and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs had a useful meeting with Mr. Bassam Abu Sharif on 1 March. We look forward to the formation of a new Israeli Government able to carry the process forward. We continue, in the meantime, to work for the improvement of conditions in the occupied territories.

Sri Lanka

39. Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the Government of Sri Lanka about human rights.

Mr. Sainsbury : The British high commissioner in Colombo most recently raised the subject with President Premadasa on 28 February. The Sri Lankan Government are in no doubt of our concern.

Cuba

40. Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any plans to meet President Castro of Cuba.

Mr. Sainsbury : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no such plans.

Cyprus

42. Ms. Armstrong : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy towards Cyprus following the breakdown of the United Nations talks.

Mr. Maude : We have worked actively to promote the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 649 on Cyprus. In line with it, we will continue to support UN efforts to bring about a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement to the Cyprus dispute.

NATO

43. Mr. Moss : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the implications of the result of the East German elections for the NATO alliance.

Mr. Waldegrave : NATO has long supported the cause for freedom in the German Democratic Republic and throughout eastern Europe. We welcome the democratic election in the GDR. The establishment of a genuine democracy there will contribute to stability and security in Europe. We stress the crucial importance of continued German membership of NATO.

Cameroons

44. Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the application for the Cameroons to join the Commonwealth.

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Mr. Waldegrave : I have nothing to add to the reply I gave in response to a similar question from the hon. Member on Wednesday 13 December 1989.

Hungary

46. Mr. Boswell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the elections in Hungary.

62. Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the elections in Hungary.

Mr. Waldegrave : We welcome Hungary's free and democratic elections on 25 March. They are an important milestone in the development of a pluralist democracy. We look forward to the formation of a new Government after the second round of elections on 8 April and to continued good relations.

93. Sir Russell Johnston : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to be able to meet a representative of the new Hungarian Government.

Mr. Waldegrave : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs looks forward to early contacts with the new Hungarian Government once formed, but has no firm plans as yet.

European Parliament

47. Mr. Butler : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has any plans to promote representation within the European Parliament based on a proportional ratio of population to seats.

Mr. Maude : The allocation of seats in the European Parliament has been the subject of negotiations within the framework of successive treaties since that of 1951 establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, under which the original Common Assembly was set up. Relative population has become the principal factor in determining the allocation of seats.

Vietnam

48. Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what talks the Minister has recently had with NGOs about the situation in Vietnam.

Mrs. Chalker : I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Monklands, West (Mr. Clarke) on 12 March. ODA is in close touch with the NGOs. They have recently submitted proposals for projects in the areas from which most of the boat people have come. These are receiving careful consideration.

Taiwan

49. Mr. Bellingham : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he next plans to visit Taiwan ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Maude : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has no plans to do

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so ; in 1950 we ceased to recognise the nationalist authorities as the Government of China ; since that date it has been our policy to have no formal dealings with the authorities in Taiwan.

Vietnamese Boat People

52. Mr. Ted Garrett : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statement on the situation of Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong.

75. Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statement on the situation of Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong.

77. Mr. Eadie : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statement on the situation of Vietnamese boat people in Hong Kong.

Mr. Maude : For the first time since May 1987, there is now a sustained net outflow of Vietnamese boat people from Hong Kong. But it is too soon to know whether there will be another large influx into Hong Kong this year.

Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on living conditions in the closed camps for Vietnamese boat people.

Mr. Maude : The standard of living conditions in Hong Kong's 10 detention centres depends to a large extent on the degree of overcrowding. At present there are 44,000 Vietnamese boat people living in these detention centres, which have a combined design capacity of 43,000 places. A further 5,000 places will become available during May to accommodate the new influx which it is feared will arrive in the coming months.

The UNHCR provides a full range of services to all detention centres through programmes operated by voluntary agencies. These services include education for children and adults, medical and family planning services, social work and welfare services.

Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to improve conditions in the closed camps for Vietnamese boat people.

Mr. Maude : Following the influx of 34,000 Vietnamese boat people in 1989, the Hong Kong Government have constructed new accommodation providing a total of 23,000 places. This has eased the overcrowding and has led to a significant improvement in conditions. In 1989-90 the total cost of providing asylum in Hong Kong was about £90 million. Of this, Her Majesty's Government provided £21 million to cover part of the cost of the building programme.

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