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European Defence Co-operation
Viscount Addison asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What assessment they have made of recent Franco-German proposals in the IGC on defence.
Baroness Chalker of Wallasey: We are a strong advocate of improved practical co-operation on defence among European countries. The decisions of the Berlin North Atlantic Council in June 1996 to support the development of the European Security and Defence Identity within NATO provide a sound framework for such co-operation, permitting the creation of militarily coherent and effective forces capable of operating under the political control and strategic direction of the Western European Union using NATO assets and capabilities when appropriate. We remain opposed to proposals to change the situation set out in the Maastricht Treaty whereby the Western European Union elaborates and implements decisions and actions of the Union which have defence implications, and to proposals to subordinate the Western European Union to the European Union and to introduce a commitment to the eventual merger of the Western European Union and the European Union. We are firmly committed to the principle that decisions with defence implications taken by the European Union shall be taken by unanimity. We are opposed to flexibility arrangements within the European Union which could lead to a group of countries taking on collective defence commitments within a European Union framework which would undermine collective defence within NATO. Proposals along these lines, such as those put forward by the French and Germans, would undermine the development of the European Security and Defence Identity within NATO.
Estonia/Russia Border Negotiations
Baroness Park of Monmouth asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will detail the negotiations between Estonia and Russia on the delimitation of their border, and on the implications for Estonia's aspirations for integration into the EU.
Baroness Chalker of Wallasey: We welcome recent progress in the Estonia/Russia border negotiations; we hope that the positive steps taken by the Estonian Government will lead to early agreement. If for reasons outside Estonia's control there are further delays, there is no reason why they should obstruct Estonia's progress towards membership of the European Union. My right honourable friend, the Foreign Secretary raised this with Mr. Primakov when he saw him on 28 February.
Peto Institute, Budapest
Lord Belhaven and Stenton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will detail the agreement between the United Kingdom and Hungarian Governments concerning the extension and refurbishment of the Peto Institute in Budapest.
Baroness Chalker of Wallasey: Under an agreement in 1991 with the Hungarian Government, we made a contribution of £1.75 million towards the cost of building a new International Peto Institute in Budapest to be brought into operation by 1996. It has not in the event proved possible to use this money for the purpose originally intended. We have instead agreed a proposal from the Hungarians that these funds (approximately £2 million including interest accrued) should be applied to extend and refurbish an existing Institute building in return for substantial benefits for UK citizens. These benefits include guaranteed numbers of places for British children receiving conductive education at the Institute and for British students receiving professional training, reductions in fees for British children, and access on a cost basis to a guaranteed proportion of new family and student accommodation. The Institute will continue to assist with the development of conductive education in the UK. A new Inter-Governmental Agreement incorporating these benefits and appropriate safeguards for the implementation of the project will be signed later this month by the British Ambassador in Budapest and a representative of the Hungarian Government.
United Nations Organisation: Future
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What is their position on the future of the United Nations; and what discussions the Foreign Secretary had during his recent visit to Washington.
Baroness Chalker of Wallasey: The United Kingdom is fully committed to a strong and effective United Nations in pursuit of the objectives set out in the Charter. The United Nations plays a vital role in helping maintain international peace and security, and in promoting democracy, human rights, international law and economic and social progress around the world. As we approach the 21st century, we shall want to use the United Nations increasingly to help achieve that partnership for sustainable human development about which I addressed the General Assembly last September. The new global challenges such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, and threats to the environment and to natural resources because of population pressures on present patterns of production and consumption, will require the international community to agree policies and to work out practical solutions through international co-operation. The United Nations has some unique advantages for this.
We welcome the commitment of the new United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, in setting the United Nations on the path of reform, so that it can better measure up to these challenges. When he visited London last month the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary were impressed by his determination to give reform a high priority. We support him in his plans to secure tighter budgeting, greater management efficiency and the elimination of overlap between different UN bodies.
But, to succeed, the United Nations needs not only to reform, but also to be able to rely on the financial resources which member states have voted to it. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary raised with a number of US Congressmen during his visit to Washington on 9-10 March our concerns on this score. At the end of 1996 the United States owed the United Nations some US $1.3 billion, which is approximately two-thirds of total arrears due. This backlog of unpaid obligatory financial contributions is severely disabling the United Nations from working properly and from carrying out the policies voted by the member states. It also means that countries contributing to UN peacekeeping operations such as India, Bangladesh and the United Kingdom (which is currently owed £40 million) do not get their debts paid. The Foreign Secretary made it clear in Washington that this failure to honour financial obligations under the UN Charter does the cause of UN reform no good causes resentment among friends and allies. I know that President Clinton is committed to solving this problem. We need a new and fairer system of UN financing based more closely on the principle of capacity to pay and on the assurances that all member states will in future pay in full, unconditionally and on time. Once the problem of arrears has been dealt with, we hope it will be possible speedily to complete the process of UN reform and thus to relaunch the United Nations on its urgent new agenda.
Africa: Aid and Investment
Lord Judd asked Her Majesty's Government:
- What was the agreed action resulting from their most recent discussions in Washington and New York on overseas development co-operation matters, debt of the poorest countries and the economic, social and political situation in Africa.
Baroness Chalker of Wallasey: During my visit to Washington from 10-12 March, I held discussions with the State Department, USAID, the Managing Director of the IMF and the President of the World Bank on a wide range of issues affecting the prospects for economic and social development across Africa and in specific countries. I also pressed for early progress on the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.
In New York on 13 March, I chaired a meeting of the UN Secretary General's Panel of High Level Personalities on African Development. Discussions focused on governance and on food security but also covered the HIPC Initiative and the importance of increasing foreign investment in Africa and developing African private sector activity.
Turkey: Detention of Suspects
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they are satisfied that the new time limits for detention of suspects in Turkey, announced in an Embassy Press Release of 10 March 1997, bring Turkey completely into line with the European Convention on Human Rights, and if not, why.
Baroness Chalker of Wallasey: We welcome the reduction in detention lengths in Turkey announced on 6 March. We will urge the Turkish authorities to enforce these measures in full. The validity of any argument that the measures are incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights would be for the Convention institutions to determine, not for us.
Inuit Population, Canada
Lord Milverton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they favour increased autonomy for the Inuit populations of Canada, and if so, whether they will make representations to this effect.
Baroness Chalker of Wallasey: Canada's constitutional arrangements are an internal matter for the Canadian government.
Lord Milverton asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether, if Quebec were to secede from Canada, they would make representations to protect the position of the Inuit population of Quebec.
Baroness Chalker of Wallasey: Any secession by Quebec, and the terms for it, are hypothetical.
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