Letter from Parliamentary Clerk, Home
Office to the Committee Specialist
Thank you for your letter of 12 February 2009
about ratification by the UK of the UN International Convention
for the suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. I am sorry for
the slight delay in replying.
The United Kingdom signed the Convention when
it opened for signature in September 2005 and remains fully committed
to the aims of the Convention which, as you state, entered into
force in July 2007.
Following signature of the Convention, Home
Office policy leads assessed the provisions of the Convention
against UK legislation to ensure sufficient powers were in place
to enable the UK to implement the Convention, and submitted an
Explanatory Memorandum to parliament. Concerns around whether
or not the necessary consultations had taken place with the Devolved
Administration, Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies have
delayed the final stages of the ratification process. The final
stage of the process involves FCO preparing a formal instrument
of ratification, and notifying the UN. This process can be carried
out in a matter of weeks.
I can confirm that Home Office policy officials
are double checking, as a matter of priority, that sufficient
consultation has taken place and that all relevant procedures
have been followed. Once that has been done, the Home Office will
instruct the FCO to press ahead with the final stage of the ratification
process, as outlined above. Finally, we should therefore be in
a position to conclude the process and notify the UN of UK ratification
ahead of its annual treaty events in September 2009.
24 March 2009
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