HC Deb 12 April 1948 vol 449 cc595-6
10. Major Tufton Beamish

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if, in view of the fact that a redefinition of aggression is essential if the United Nations organisation is to become a more effective instrument for the preservation of peace and democracy, he will take the initiative to this end by asking the appropriate body of the United Nations organisation to give early consideration to this question.

Mr. Mayhew

The Charter of the United Nations contains no definition of aggression. Article 51 contemplates the contingency of armed attack against a member of the United Nations, but this does not, of course, rank as a comprehensive definition of aggression. It does not, for instance, cover the possibility of indirect aggression.

The hon. and gallant Member will, however, realise that an attempt to insert in the Charter a comprehensive definition of aggression cannot be made without amending the Charter itself. My right hon. Friend does not consider that the present is the right moment for amending the Charter, though the point raised in the Question will, of course, be borne in mind by His Majesty's Government at the appropriate time.

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