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Letter from the Second Clerk to Dr Simon Whitby
As you may be aware, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee is currently undertaking an inquiry into Global Security: Non-proliferation. During an oral evidence session on 19th November which focussed on chemical and biological weapons (See Questions 82-83 in the attached transcript), the issue of defoliants and use of herbicides was discussed. Sir John Stanley questioned the witnesses as to whether it would be permissible under the Chemical Weapons Convention to use defoliants as the US did during the Vietnam War. Your page on the University of Bradford's Department of Peace Studies website states that you worked during 2006 on a "single-authored book on the role of science policy advisors and the use of chemical herbicides and defoliants in Vietnam." The Committee would therefore be grateful if you would consider providing written evidence on this point, discussing the control of such biological and chemical weapons that target plants under current multilateral treaty arrangements. We would be grateful in particular for your view on Sir John's question as to whether "if it is merely in the preamble, is it a policy development that the British Government should press for when we come to the next review?".
There is no formal deadline for this request; however, if it is possible to supply us with written evidence before the end of the year, that would be much appreciated. I have attached a guide to submitting evidence to the Committee for your information.
November 2008 Foreign Affairs Committee: Guide to Submitting Written Evidence Each submission should: • Aim to be no more than 3.000 words in length; • begin with a short summary in bullet point form; • State the title of the Inquiry; • focus on the terms of reference of the Inquiry; (please see the inquiry home page) • have numbered paragraphs and; • be in Word format with as little use of colour/ logos as possible. A copy of the submission should be sent by e-mail to foraffcom@parliament.uk and marked with the title of the inquiry'. Paper copies should be sent to:
You will receive a confirmation of receipt e-mail or letter. It would be helpful, for Data Protection purposes, if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details separately in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. For futher information please refer to the House of Commons Guide for written submissions to Select Committees Please note that: • Material already published elsewhere should not form the basis of a submission, but may be referred to within a proposed memorandum, in which case a hard copy of the published work should be included. • Memoranda submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless specifically authorised. • Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Record Office. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence. |