House of Commons Hansard Debates for 19 Nov 1993

Mr. Faber : The right hon. Gentleman has chosen to introduce party politics into this foreign affairs debate. Would he like to tell us a little about the socialist manifesto for Europe, as it strikes us that many members of the Labour party are embarrassed by that document?

Dr. Cunningham : On the contrary. I am happy to debate any aspect of our manifesto--which is published, unlike those of the Conservative party and its confederates in the European People's party, many of whom are out- in-the-open federalists. We look forward to the debate in the run-up to the European parliamentary elections and will be quite happy to discuss the matter in full, because we believe that we have an excellent manifesto which seeks to address the issues of economic regeneration in Europe and the fact that Europe is heading for a disastrous unemployment figure of almost 20 million. A few moments ago I quoted "King Lear". Perhaps a more appropriate quote is one from one of Shakespeare's sonnets ;

"Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds."

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There is a lot of festering going on in the Cabinet in relation to our attitude and approach to the European Community and consequently to the effectiveness of foreign policy in the wider world. The Foreign Secretary touched on trade. I endorse what he said about the importance of our trading relationship with the Republic of India. I also share his views on the situation in Kashmir. We must remember, however, that Britain is running trade deficits with the 10 richest countries in the world and trade surpluses with the 10 most impoverished nations of the world. That cannot be right in terms of economic policy and it cannot be right in terms of foreign policy. We should not be running beggar-our- neighbour policies with the 10 poorest nations of the world and we should be doing much better with the more powerful economies.

That situation, sadly, is being replicated in terms of our trade with eastern Europe and Russia, as my hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead, East (Ms Quin) pointed out during Question Time just a few weeks ago. Although there may be little spots of good news here and there in respect of India, our trade and our aid programmes generally are far from being matters for praise and congratulation. I very much hope that, in respect of those matters and GATT, the right hon. Gentleman will stand up for more enlightened policies, and particularly that he will not be pushed aside by the French. I hope that he will insist on meeting the deadline of 15 December for a final agreement.

In last year's autumn statement, the Government announced a small increase in the budget of the Overseas Development Administration. But the reality is that they also said that the aid budget would be frozen and that it would be frozen for the next two years. In those circumstances, the aid budget, at 0.26 per cent. of gross national product, will be frozen at its lowest ever level. Those are the stark facts of our aid budget and, however much the right hon. Gentleman seeks to gloss over them, it is another example of the Government, during the election, making a commitment in their election manifesto to the United Nations' target of 0.7 per cent. of GNP--that commitment was repeated by the Prime Minister at the Rio earth summit last year--but the reality is that, in practice, the Government have no intention of keeping those promises or meeting those commitments. The right hon. Gentleman cannot disguise those facts.

When we look at our relations with the poorest nations of the world, whether in trade, aid or other respects, we see that those relations are poor indeed. They are not only poor, but deteriorating. That does not enhance Britain's reputation in international affairs ; nor does it enable us to say that we can hold up our heads as a country with the people who have the best and most enlightened trade and aid programmes. It does not do that at all, and the right hon. Gentleman, in his heart of hearts, knows that well.

If the excuse that the Foreign Secretary might advance is that money is short, why did he insist, against the advice of his accounting officer, on squandering millions on the Pergau hydro-electric project in Malaysia? It is worth reminding the House what the accounting officer had to say about that project. In paragraph 56 of the National Audit Office report, he says : "the chosen method of implementation would cost the UK £56 million more than it might otherwise have done."

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Having ignored the recommendation of his accounting officer, who said that the project was not economic, the right hon. Gentleman went on to approve a method of financing that squandered an additional £56 million from a desperately short aid programme. We are looking at the £56 million man.

If a councillor in any of a number of authorities that I could name around the country ignored the advice of his or her accounting officer, they would be liable to surcharge and disqualification, perhaps even bankruptcy, and the Government have not been slow to enforce such an approach. Yet just because, I believe, Baroness Thatcher insisted that he had to do it--it is not clear from his parliamentary answers, of course--that money was paid.

The right hon. Gentleman said that it was promised at the highest authority. What can that mean? There was only one higher authority than him in that matter, and that was Baroness Thatcher. When it suits her purpose, British taxpayers' money can be squandered in that way, yet we cannot expand the aid programme. When it suits the right hon. Gentleman's purpose, he just keels over to the right hon. and noble Lady, in the face of all the arguments and evidence, and squanders £56 million.

Mr. Hurd : I do not think that this is the place to debate the NAO report on this. [ Several hon. Members :-- "Why not?"] Because there are other opportunities to do that. I would simply say that a promise had been given. It seemed to me important that it should be honoured.

Dr. Cunningham : It is extremely odd, Madam Deputy Speaker, to say that a promise had been given. After all, all this happened two years ago, although it has just come to the attention of the House now. A promise had been given, in spite of the advice of the accounting officer, in spite of the fact that the project was described as uneconomic, in spite of the fact that we are told that the right hon. Gentleman was advised that the method of financing that he was approving would needlessly cost the taxpayer another £56 million. Is that reasonable? Do people outside the House think that that is reasonable? I am sure that they do not. I am sure that people who are interested in our aid programme do not think so either.

I want to draw the attention of the House to some other aspects of the Queen's Speech that are worthy of comment. It is quite cynical of the Government to say, as they did yesterday in the Queen's Speech : "My Government will maintain a substantial aid programme to promote sustainable development and good Government."

In view of their record, that is just pure political cynicism. It is not in any way justified by what has been happening. In another passage in the Gracious Speech yesterday the Government pledge to "encourage international responsibility in conventional arms transfers."

What is emerging from the Scott inquiry shows us that, far from being responsible in conventional arms exchanges, the Government have a most abysmal and dishonest record. The reality is that a scene is unfolding where Ministers are contradicting civil servants and civil servants are contradicting Ministers. There is a complete lack of candour and honesty, which has been demonstrated in terms of relations with the House of Commons and the Select Committee, yet the Government have the appalling nerve to say that they want to encourage,

"international responsibility in conventional arms transfers."

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The Government ought to set a far better example in their own record before they start making platitudinous comments about other people's conduct. I suspect that the reality is that we shall never know the whole truth about what has been going on in terms of arming Iraq. There is probably another promise given by Baroness Thatcher, in conjuction with President Bush, to Saddam Hussein so that the underhand arms programme could proceed.

Such conduct or behaviour does not enable Britain to stand up in the international community, hold its head high and say, "Yes, we are setting examples that we believe other people in the world should follow." Far from it. It is the most appalling example of deception that we have come across in recent times.

Mr. Corbyn : Will my right hon. Friend put on record his support for the ending of all arms sales to Indonesia in view of the use of British planes, weapons and vehicles to kill the people of East Timor in order to maintain the Indonesian illegal occupation of that part of the world?

Dr. Cunningham : My hon. Friend asks a question which I have already pursued with the right hon. Gentleman in seeking the assurances, which, apparently, were given. I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the Hawk aircraft contract to Indonesia, which we are still pursuing. I was not convinced by the reply that I received from the Foreign Secretary--I do not have it with me, or I would quote it--about the nature of the assurances that had been sought, let alone received, from the Indonesian Government about what exactly would be the purpose and use of the aeroplanes. There may be another question as to whether the planes will be built in this country or under licence in Indonesia. We will continue to pursue that point. My hon. Friend is right to raise it.

I deal now with Turkey and Cyprus. Eighteen months ago, the right hon. Gentleman said :

"I have come to the conclusion that we in western Europe must build a new and stronger relationship with Turkey It is in our interests that Turkey, a stalwart member of NATO, should build a new relationship with the European Community".--[ Official Report, 8 May 1992 ; Vol. 207, c. 282-83.]

That is fine--at least in theory, but what about in practice? What are we going to say and do about the fact that Turkey has 30,000 troops in Cyprus which is an independent member of the Commonwealth? What are we going to do about the fact that Turkey is pursuing a policy of taking settlers from eastern Turkey and putting them in Cyprus? Those settlers have no connection with Cyprus. They are not Turkish Cypriots or their relatives. They are complete newcomers to the island. It is said that they will soon outnumber the declining population of Turkish Cypriots, some of whom have left the island. What are we going to do to support the United Nations Secretary-General's proposals to try to resolve the problem in Cyprus? What are we going to do about the Turkish prosecution of the Kurdish people? What are we going to do about human rights in Turkey? What are we going to do about ministerial visits to Cyprus? Thanks to a document leaked from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office southern European department in August 1993, we know that "Since Turkish Cypriot UDI, there have been no bilateral ministerial visits to Cyprus although we have normal representation including the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary at Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings."

The Foreign Secretary has placed an embargo on ministerial visits to Cyprus and that is confirmed in an

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internal document from his Department. We cannot say that we are going to work towards normalising relationships with Turkey on those issues or to encourage Turkey to believe that it will have our support in respect of membership of the European Community while that totally unacceptable situation obtains in Cyprus.

What are we going to do about the disgraceful treatment by Turkish police of Manchester United supporters at the recent football match? Are we making any protests? Will the Foreign Secretary meet a deputation led by my hon. Friend the Member for Stalybridge and Hyde (Mr. Pendry), the shadow spokesman on sport, which will make a protest? I have written to the Foreign Secretary about a constituent of mine who was dragged from his hotel in the middle of the night when he was asleep. He was arrested and lost all his cash and his passport. He was thrown out of the country. He was simply picked on by the Turkish police. Are we going to do anything about that? Are any representations going to be made?

Mr. Ken Maginnis (Fermanagh and South Tyrone) : Will the right hon. Gentleman admit that, in respect of the Turkish republic of northern Cyprus, he is being somewhat partisan in the picture that he presents? Does not he recognise that Turkey had a proper responsibility to intervene when the Turkish Cypriots were being slaughtered by the Greek Cypriots? Does he accept that there would be no Turkish troops in northern Cyprus if the Greeks did not continue to arm the Greek Cypriots totally beyond what is required and if they would stop sending the Greek army into the southern part of the island?

Dr. Cunningham : I was working in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office with Lord Callaghan of Cardiff when those events unfolded. In the political sense, I lived through all those events, including the peace talks at the United Nations in Geneva and subsequently. I am very familiar with the background. However, all that was 19 years ago. I am not saying that the blame lay all on one side. Those of us who were here at the time denounced the regime of the Greek colonels and their attitude to Cyprus. I do not resile from that denunciation for a moment. However, we are talking about the situation now and about attempts by the UN Secretary-General to finally reach a settlement. We are talking about what Her Majesty's Government should or should not be doing to try to bring that about.

I share the Foreign Secretary's views about the circumstances in Russia. Russia is a very important country with between 150 million and 160 million people. The developments towards democracy are welcome and quite astonishing in some respects. However, as I have said in correspondence with the Foreign Secretary, we should insist that democratic reform must go hand in hand with economic reform in Russia. It is a matter of concern to see some political opponents banned in that country. It is a matter of concern to see draconian controls over some sections of the media. It is also a matter of concern to ensure that the elections and the whole evolution of democracy in Russia are open, free and fair.

Our support for economic regeneration in that important country should be based on the acceptance of those full democratic reforms. I made that clear to Foreign Minister Kozyrev when he was in this country and I hope that the Foreign Secretary has done so as well.

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We have discussed briefly the problems of Iraq and Saddam Hussein's brutal regime. There should be no relaxation of the United Nations approach to Iraq, especially in view of the apparent recent evidence of further atrocities against the Shia Muslims. I am sorry that the Foreign Secretary believes that we can do no more than we are doing at the moment. I ask him to think again about that. I am also sorry that there is not time to deal as fully as one would like with the brutality of the war in Angola. Of course, aid and assistance are welcome. That war is perhaps the worst of many conflicts in the world at the moment. I urge the Foreign Secretary to improve and increase his diplomatic efforts which I know he is making and for which I do not criticise him and to increase the aid and support to the democratically elected Government of Angola. There was a United Nations-arranged election in Angola and a Government were elected. That election has been usurped by UNITA, although there is currently a ceasefire. Our support and commitment should be directed towards the democratic process and the legitimate victors in that process. I hope that the Government will redouble their efforts in that regard.

In a world which often seems completely swamped by bad news, there has been some good news in the past 18 months. That includes the developments in the middle east and the developments in South Africa. Who would have said, and certainly some Conservative Members not only would not have said, but would not have accepted, that white supremacy in South Africa should end, let alone could end, in the way that it has?

Mr. Faber : Stupid.

Dr. Cunningham : If the hon. Member for Westbury had been here over the past 10 or 20 years when we debated the circumstances in South Africa, he would have heard plenty of Conservative Members defend the despicable regime in that country. I am not saying that the hon. Member for Westbury would do that and, to their credit, there were Conservative Members who denounced that regime. The Opposition have never been in doubt about the rightness of the cause of black people in South Africa. That may be an uncomfortable reminder for the hon. Member for Westbury, but it is the truth.

Mr. Michael Colvin (Romsey and Waterside) : Will the right hon. Gentleman name one Conservative Member who has ever defended the abominable practice of apartheid? Even those of us who stood up and spoke in favour of reforms in the Republic of South Africa of whatever sort have always condemned apartheid. The examples that we have used of parts of South Africa which have buried apartheid once and for all have been used. However, the right hon. Gentleman must name names or he must withdraw his statement.

Dr. Cunningham : The hon. Gentleman is aware of the apologists for the Bantustans and for the programmes of separate development in South Africa. Why does he not go to the Library and ask? I am sure that the Librarians would be more than keen to remind him of who the apologists are. They were Conservative Members, and I make no apology for reminding the House of that.

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Mr. Robert N. Wareing (Liverpool, West Derby) : If the hon. Member for Romsey and Waterside (Mr. Colvin), who requested information from my right hon. Friend, would care to look at the Register of Members' Interests, he would find something that has been of great interest over the past 10 years.

Dr. Cunningham : I warmly welcome those developments in South Africa and I applaud the great courage of the State President, Mr. de Klerk, and Nelson Mandela. Of course it is a matter of great joy that they have jointly been awarded the Nobel peace prize, but they are going to need tremendous international support in a much more sustained way, perhaps, than support has been given to other emerging democracies in the past, and on a much wider scale. As Nelson Mandela has made clear to us on several occasions, they are expected to make the transition from apartheid to democracy in a very short time. It took centuries for democracy to evolve in this country. South Africans are expected to organise free and fair elections in rural communities where millions of illiterate people live. That is going to be an enormous challenge not only to them but to those of us who want to see a proper conclusion to that process. The Foreign Secretary should redouble his efforts to increase support and ensure that the international community joins him in doing so.

In the middle east, the courage of chairman Arafat and the whole Israeli Labour Government deserve our applause and our commitment. I want to see the European Community in particular play a much more active role in the regeneration of the occupied territories in bringing support in terms of infrastructure investment and commercial developments and, along the lines that the right hon. Gentleman rightly highlighted, helping people to develop the simple basics of governing themselves, setting up councils, developing free trade unions, and helping to develop a more effective education process for the hundreds of thousands of children in the territories who so desperately need it.

I chose deliberately to end on those issues of good news and hope in a world which has so much bad news and so many difficulties for us to confront, not least because on those two issues, if not on some of the others, there is broad agreement in the House about the way forward.

10.52 am

Sir John Stanley (Tonbridge and Malling) : I should like to speak briefly on two aspects of the debate : first, overseas aid policy and, secondly, the situation on the Korean peninsula which has ramifications much wider than that geographical area.

In most debates over the past few years, the central issues on overseas aid have been seen in terms of the amount of expenditure on overseas aid, the quantum of overseas aid, and the quality of our overseas aid programme. But I believe that there is now another dimension which so far has not received much attention in the House and which deserves much more intense scrutiny. I refer to the control being exercised over our aid programme. It was referred to very briefly by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in his opening remarks. The issue which now faces us is whether it is acceptable to the House that a growing and accelerating share of our overseas aid programme should be transferred from the control of the House, from the control of the British

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Government and administration by our bilateral programme, to international situations where we lose control and any real measure of accountability.

What is happening is extremely well set out in the paper that the Overseas Development Administration submitted to the Foreign Affairs Committee during the previous Session and which is reproduced in the fourth report of the Foreign Affairs Committee in Session 1992-93. The relevant figures are set out on pages 30 to 31 of the paper in question. They show that the bilateral aid programme in 1991-92 represented 55 per cent. of our total overseas aid programme. This year, as my right hon. Friend said, that figure has fallen to 53 per cent.

What is significant from the projections that the ODA has now given and which are published in the report is that in just two years--that is, in the financial year 1995-96--the bilateral aid programme will have fallen from 53 per cent. this year to just 45 per cent. The multilateral aid programme is going the other way in terms of its share. In 1991-92, it took 45 per cent. of our overall aid programme. This year, the figure is 47 per cent. In 1995-96, it will represent 55 per cent.

If we look at the overall increases, we see that the multilateral programme will increase between the present financial year and 1995-96. The multilateral programme will be increased by 23 per cent. in cash terms while, over the same period, the bilateral programme will be reduced by 12 per cent. in cash terms. That assumes that the present aid figures are kept unchanged in the forthcoming public expenditure White Paper. If there are further cuts in cash terms over the next two years, the reduction of the bilateral programme will be still greater than the 12 per cent. figure in cash terms, which of course would represent an even greater percentage cut in real terms. That is a significant development which requires extremely close attention in the House.

If we take those projections forward, it would appear that, certainly within, say, five to seven years, our bilateral aid programme will be down to probably not more than one third of our total aid programme. It woud appear that, within a decade, our bilateral aid programme will be barely, or possibly significantly less than, a quarter of the total amount of overseas aid that we are making available.

The House needs to consider whether it is concerned about that trend. Some hon. Members might consider that it does not really matter whether the British overseas aid programme is to be dispensed by multilateral agencies, for example, by branches of the United Nations and of the World bank or by EC institutions. But in my view that would be a very retrograde step for the British interest and, indeed, British value for money in the use of our aid budget. I should like to argue three grounds on which it is essential to maintain a significant share of our overall aid budget going out through the bilateral programme.

First, there is the quality of our programme and the value for money that we are securing. In the ODA, among the European Governments, we have a group of civil servants who have had long experience in the technical matter of administering overseas aid, particularly in the poorest communities of the world. One can criticise certain aspects of the aid programme. The right hon. Member for Copeland (Dr. Cunningham) had fun in relation to the project in Malaysia, but I am referring to the generality of the aid programme. We can be extremely proud of the value for money that we secure from our aid programme which, in quality terms, is second to none.

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The feedback that I receive from those in a position to know is that we are getting, and are likely to continue to get, very much less value for money if the same funds are dispersed through the international bureaucracy in Brussels which, in terms of experience and staff, is immeasurably less well-equipped than our Overseas Development Administration. Therefore, the multilateral approach means a qualitative reduction in the British taxpayer's value for money from the overall aid budget.

Secondly, the transfer has and will continue to have a significant impact on British non-governmental organisations involved in overseas aid. It is common ground among hon. Members that British overseas aid NGOs are the most experienced, the best diversified and best equipped of any in the European Community. I am privileged to serve as a trustee of Action Aid and I know that many other hon. Members of all parties are directly connected with one or more NGOs involved in overseas development. It is inescapable that the transfer of our available aid funding from the bilateral to the multilateral will circumscribe the effectiveness of British NGOs working overseas. If they have to go through the Brussels bureaucracy, they will not have the same access to funds or be able to do their job nearly as well as they do now.

The third reason why it is critical to hang on to a significant share of our available aid money for the bilateral programme is one to which my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary referred. He said, rightly, that overseas aid is a significant adjunct of foreign policy. However, it is a significant adjunct only when coupled with bilateral expenditure and when it can reinforce our bilateral foreign policy relations with certain countries. Indeed, I think that my right hon. Friend will probably agree that, especially among the smaller and economically less well-endowed countries, our aid programme is probably the single most important element, in foreign policy terms, of our bilateral relations with them. For those reasons, we must resist the current trend.

When referring to the escalating percentage of our aid programme spent on the multilateral programme, my right hon. Friend said that we must adapt to reality. However, that adaptation to reality will mean the emasculation of our bilateral aid programme, which will become a very small part of the total. That would be deeply regrettable.

Clearly, we have obligations to the EC and to multilateral agencies. We should say that, as a matter of policy, there is to be a 50-50 split. I am sure that all hon. Members would regard that as a reasonable division between our bilateral needs and requirements and funds for multilateral agencies, but, unless we review immediately the dissipation of funds from our bilateral aid programme, in a few years we shall end up with a bilateral programme involving only a small residue of the total funds available.

Mr. Hurd : My right hon. Friend is making an extremely shrewd and well-informed speech. I share his reservations about the current trend, as I made clear. He will understand that only a very small proportion of the process is voluntary. We contribute voluntarily to only a small percentage of the funds ; the overwhelming majority of our contributions are in the nature of subscriptions. One belongs to an organisation and makes a subscription which is fixed each year. One can withdraw from an organisation, as we did from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation--my right hon. Friend will know the arguments for and against that particular case

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--but I do not think that he would recommend withdrawing on a substantial scale from organisations, whether United Nations or EC. There are three issues to bear in mind. The first is the need to keep a lid, as far as possible, on the spending of international organisations. The second is to improve their quality and we are hard at work on that. The third is to ensure that our bilateral aid programme goes where it will produce the best results. As I said, the time is passing when it is right to fund huge projects bilaterally. They should now be funded multilaterally and bilateral aid should be concentrated on the objectives set out by my right hon. Friend.

Sir John Stanley : I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for responding to that issue, as I know that he cannot be here at the end of the debate. From what he said, it appears that he does not differ from the thrust of my argument and the numerical direction in which I am heading.

My right hon. Friend might also reflect on the wisdom of some of the ratchet agreements into which we have entered, especially that with the European Community. We may have received a great deal in return, but I believe that we have given way too lightly on the question of the share of our overseas aid that we can hold on to bilaterally. I have a horrible feeling that it was thrown away as something of a make-weight in earlier negotiations. If so, that is regrettable. If we must continue to pay subscriptions, I urge my right hon. Friend to play a tougher hand and to reduce the diversion, especially to the EC, which appears to be on the cards.

Finally, I wish to speak about the Korean peninsula, which has received considerable publicity in the past week or so. As the House may know, I am the chairman of the Britain-Korea parliamentary group and, in that capacity, I spent last week in Korea with the vice-chairman of the group, the hon. Member for Wrexham (Dr. Marek). The House will appreciate that North Korea is one of the most uncertain and unstable countries, politically and possibly militarily, in the world. It is not replicated by any other. It has an aging communist dictator, Kim Il Sung, and an uncertain successor, Kim Jong Il, about whom very little is known, although his personal attributes have been the subject of colourful media speculation, which may or may not be correct.

North Korea has been hermetically sealed for many years and to a much greater extent than any other country. The Government have, with considerable success, been able to deny their people access to the free world's media, whether radio or television. They have also been able to filter every form of communication, including telephone and post. The country allows only limited access to foreign visitors and always under very carefully controlled conditions. In the past year, it has decided to play the nuclear card by withdrawing from the non-proliferation treaty and refusing to grant proper inspection rights to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The potential instability and anxiety in the Korean peninsula cannot be confined to the peninsula. The significance of the position in North Korea is that, on the nuclear side at least, it is bound to give further impetus to China's already burgeoning nuclear programme and --perhaps even more

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worrying--if North Korea appeared to be getting in range of developing a credible nuclear delivery capability the Japanese would find that extremely difficult to ignore.

In a dangerous and uncertain world, one of the encouraging features is that the two major belligerents in the last world war have both, so far, imposed upon themselves self-denying ordinances in relation to nuclear weapons. We all profoundly wish that to continue. The last thing that we need is for any impetus to be given inside the Japanese political system to that country changing policy and having to say that it will be obliged, as a result of threats from a country such as North Korea, to consider giving itself a nuclear capability. It is, therefore, a matter of great international importance that every possible pressure is exercised on the North Korean Government to conform with their non-proliferation obligations and to their obligations towards the International Atomic Energy Agency. I hope that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be able to give us the assurance that the British Government are doing everything in their power to ensure North Korea's compliance with those obligations.

If a resolution comes before the Security Council of the United Nations about sanctions in relation to North Korea, I hope that the British Government will be strongly supportive, because unless we can lance that potential nuclear boil it has the capacity to grow into something infinitely more ominous and infinitely more serious, of worldwide international concern.

11.11 am

Sir David Steel (Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) : The right hon. Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Sir J. Stanley) has done the House a service by mentioning two important subjects. First, I entirely agree with what he said about the two Koreas and I hope that the Government will take his words seriously. Second, however, while I think that he was right to draw the important analysis of overseas aid to the attention of the House, I have reached slightly different conclusions from his own, which I will mention later.

It is inevitable that in these foreign affairs debates we flit from one subject to another in a rather miscellaneous way. I hope that I am not alone in regretting that we continue to combine foreign affairs and defence in one full day. Although the two subjects are interrelated, it means that the wind-up speeches are made on defence subjects and that there is no proper answer to the debate. We have the statutory defence debates scattered throughout the year, but we get few opportunities to debate foreign affairs. I wish that we could end the current practice and separate the two subjects in future years.

As we have to combine both subjects in one day, let me say a word about defence before I turn to my remarks on foreign affairs. At the most recent general election, there were some differences between the parties on defence policy, which were clearly set out in the manifestos. I want to acknowledge, therefore, that in the past week or two there has been a change in relation to two matters on the Government side, which my party warmly welcomes. One is the commitment in the short run to maintain the British independent nuclear deterrent with the Trident system at no greater firepower than the existing Polaris system. That is

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something which we argued for at the last election and about which there was no agreement from the Conservative party. There now is and we are grateful.

The second issue is the statement in the Queen's Speech that the Government will work towards full participation in the comprehensive test ban treaty-- another new development, which it is only right to acknowledge and welcome.

Turning to the wider framework of foreign policy, I shall be as guilty as anyone else of flitting from one subject to another, but I shall try to set my remarks in the context of what I conceive to be a proper framework of a forward-looking foreign policy for the country.

I take the House back to the atmosphere of three or four years ago--the ending of the cold war and the dismantling of the Berlin wall--because that period ushered in what appeared to be a victory for freedom and a new era of hope for the planet. The phrase "the new world order" fell from everyone's lips. It has not so far been mentioned in today's debate. The MAD age of preparing for mutually assured destruction appeared to be over and we thought that we could look forward at last to turning swords into ploughshares, with reduced military spending and greater efforts to raise the living standards of the poorer parts of the globe.

It has not worked out like that. In fact, in the past five years the United Nations Organisation has launched more peacekeeping operations than in the previous 43 years of its history. We have to recognise that some of the hopes and aspirations that we had, just that short time ago, have not been fulfilled. It should be the main object of our foreign policy to try to put them back on course. The obvious starting point is that we want to see a world in which there are regional arrangements and agreements for common security, starting with Europe. I admit that I have at times felt some sympathy for some of the American criticism of us Europeans on the subject of former Yugoslavia. That is primarily a European interest, not an American one, and we cannot say that we have covered ourselves with glory in the way that we have treated former Yugoslavia.

The Maastricht treaty clearly foreshadows the development of a common security policy in Europe and that should be the pattern for regional security arrangements right round the globe. Yet--here I agree with the right hon. Member for Copeland (Dr. Cunningham)--there is still massive schizophrenia on the European question inside the Government, not just inside the Conservative party but inside the Cabinet. That is deeply worrying.

The Foreign Secretary had some fun, in a previous debate, at the expense of my leader and my party on the ground--and he was very amusing on the subject--of our allegedly saying different things in different places, but no sin in my party has compared what we have seen in the past few weeks in the contrast between the atmosphere at the Conservative party conference and the atmosphere at the Confederation of British Industry. We cannot have members of the Cabinet appealing to the worst form of xenophobia, inward- looking nationalism, at the Conservative party conference while other members of the Cabinet go to the CBI and try to endorse the Prime Minister's line of being at the heart of Europe.

The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have a primary duty to stamp their authority on the rest of the Cabinet and tell them that we are not going to have any more of it, and that our commitment to making the

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European Union work in the way that was foreshadowed in the treaty to which we have put our signature has to be one of the starting points of our foreign policy.

Mr. Ian Taylor (Esher) : The right hon. Gentleman might know that this morning's Financial Times indicates that the Foreign Secretary is doing just that tonight in the north in a speech to the CBI, in which he will make it clear that the Conservative party has no problems with its European idealism. It objects to socialism in some of the measures in the European Community, which is a very different point.

Sir David Steel : I am not going to get on to the side track of the social chapter. I am complaining about one set of speeches to the CBI and another set of speeches to the Conservative party. That has to stop if there is to be any coherence in the Government's foreign policy.

Turning away from Europe to the wider subject of the end of the cold war and the way in which it has affected our foreign policy, on the one hand the end of cold war super-power rivalry has in some cases created peace, for example in south-west Africa, in the shape of the new Namibia, and indeed, as has already been referred to by both Front-Bench spokesmen, in the new settlement in the middle east. On the other hand, the end of the cold war super-power rivalry has brought to an end the kind of forced discipline and restraint which was imposed by the super-powers, and that has unleashed tragedies of the kind most graphically seen in Bosnia today.

In October 1995--not all that far away--we shall celebrate the 50th anniversary of the United Nations Organisation. It is time to take a good look at that organisation, and to accept that something that was created in the aftermath of the second world war, and which has remained fundamentally unchanged since, is wholly inadequate for the needs of the different world of the 21st century.

My party starts from the basic assumption that the strengthening of the United Nations and all its agencies must be the cornerstone of this country's future foreign policy, and must not simply be tacked on as a pious afterthought in the course of protecting British interests.

We must develop the United Nations peacekeeping and peacemaking machinery-- the Queen's Speech contains a reference to that--as outlined in the Secretary-General's agenda for peace. The military staff committee needs to be reactivated to provide planning, co-ordination and training of troops. Member states must earmark standby forces for that purpose--perhaps to a total of between 50,000 and 100,000 men. We could play a particular role in that activity because of our expertise in training and the availability of facilities here. We should be taking a lead in turning the "Agenda for Peace" proposals into a reality.

Such an integrated force should be able to move swiftly to discourage aggression, to re-establish order in countries where governmental authority has collapsed and to ensure the safe delivery of humanitarian aid. We must, in turn, ensure that the United Nations becomes fully accountable for its actions or inactions. Surely something has gone badly wrong when helicopter gunships fire on women and children, or on hospitals, in the name of the United Nations. Such episodes undermine the organisation's moral and political authority.

I would therefore argue that the Secretary-General and his representatives should be much more accountable to the

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Security Council. Just as that council acts on behalf of United Nations members, the General Assembly should also press for measures of accountability for the national Governments within the Security Council. For example, the new American Administration must draw a clearer distinction between American and United Nations interests. In the case of Somalia, they have gone wrong ; they have muddled the two as to whether it is an American operation or American participation in a United Nations operation.

In future, we must also avoid belated gestures which are dictated by the prick of the television camera on the world's conscience. The shadow Foreign Secretary was right to draw our attention to Angola, where television has not been particularly active, unlike Somalia. If we simply react to the day-to-day pictures on television, or if we choose operations solely because of the strategic interests of the greater powers, we will not be contributing to a real new world order. I remind the House that well over 100,000 Somalis had starved to death before the first UN force reached the country. Belated humanity is not humanity at all.

The type of peacekeeping forces that I advocate need not involve extra expenditure, but would certainly mean timely expenditure. It is salutary to note that this year only 10 per cent. of the 180 member states of the United Nations paid their dues by the deadline of 31 January and that, following the Reagan legacy, the United States of America is among the largest debtors to the organisation. I follow the comments of the shadow Foreign Secretary on Angola because I was there during that ill-fated election. Margaret Anstee, the UN representative, who is British, told me at the time, and has since gone graphically public, about the tragic lack of resources for the job that the UN was sent to do. She said :

"We had 350 unarmed military observers, 126 unarmed police and 100 election officers to cover a ravaged country as large as France, Germany and Spain combined."

Even after the civil war resumed, she was unable to secure a ceasefire because no troops could be made available to her for another six to nine months. She also said :

"We had been given a jumbo 747 to fly but fuel only for a DC3." And so the carnage continues.

In this House, we must say loudly and clearly to every international statesman who talks of the United Nations inadequacies that they must put their money where their mouth is if the organisation is to become effective.

The growing problem that the UN organisation must grapple with is not so much conflict between member states as conflict between ethnic or religious groupings within them. That is why we cannot avoid looking afresh at the UN charter's emphasis on respect for national sovereignty. We have to accept that the charteM

That is why, instead of ad hoc arrangements, we need to consider the establishment of an international criminal court to bring to justice those guilty of crimes against their fellow citizens--Iraq is the most obvious recent case--and

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the establishment of a human rights commissioner, with the same international standing as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. I have set that out as a long-term objective, because we must ensure that the UN's authority is seen to overlay all the progress that we are making in some of the brighter spots in the world. Here, I must return to the middle east. Mr. Rabin and Mr. Arafat are to be congratulated on the progress that they have made so far. We look forward to welcoming the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Yasser Arafat, here in Britain next month, when he will address a meeting of Members of both Houses. However, that process has to be followed through and they desperately need encouragement. They both have to deal with rejectionists, and the international community must ensure that not only is the Gaza-Jericho plan fully supported, but the other component parts of a future middle east peace settlement are also encouraged. I very much welcomed the Foreign Secretary's visit to Syria.

There is a parallel in what is happening in South Africa, because President de Klerk and Mr. Mandela have shown the same imagination and, with the transition to democracy in South Africa, one can envisage that precisely the sort of regional security arrangement that I mentioned might come about in southern Africa.

The Gracious Speech refers to the Government's commitment to assist democratisation in South Africa. I hope that the Foreign Office will study the report that has just come from the International Commission of Jurists on what is required in the electoral process in South Africa between now and the end of April. The requirements are substantial and it is not merely a question of packing off a few Commonwealth, European Community or parliamentary observers. A lot of ground work must be done and it will require a great deal of resources.

I watched the splendid operation during the election in Namibia, but the scale of that operation--for 1 million people--will have to be multiplied if we are to make it effective in South Africa. I fully endorse the words in the Gracious Speech, but I hope that they will be translated into action and resources.

I have always fully supported what the Foreign Secretary has said in his speeches in recent years about good governance. I very much welcome the efforts that British and other Governments are making to promote it throughout the globe. However, one must admit that, especially in Africa, one is always coming across the counter argument that, "You didn't show much interest during the cold war." I am afraid it is true that, in general, the west was happy to prop up anyone who happened to be on the anti-communist side in Africa. We have a legacy to live down, which is not easy, and it is not easy to make a transition.

We have also had setbacks and failures. The Foreign Secretary was right to dwell on the setback in Nigeria during the past couple of days. I must also mention Burundi, a much less strategically important country, where there has also been a tragic setback in the march towards good governance and democracy. We must press on with those objectives and we must judge carefully when we resume aid programmes that were stopped because of the lack of good governance. It is important to tell our friends in the Kenyan Government, for example, that good governance is a matter not just of holding a multi-party election and winning it, but of securing the independence of the judiciary and

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