§ 4. Mr. Zilliacusasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what representations Her Majesty's Government have made to the United Nations in connection with the functions of the United Nations Emergency International Force in Egypt, with particular reference to the fact that those functions are limited by the General Assembly Resolutions of 2nd and 5th November to securing and supervising the cessation of hostilities and scrupulous observance of the armistice agreements.
§ The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs (Commander Allan Noble)The hon. Member will recall that paragraph 1 of the Resolution of 5th November, which established the United Nations Force, stated that its purpose was
to secure and supervise the cessation of hostilities in accordance with all the terms of the resolution of the 2nd of November. 1956.Her Majesty's Government's Note to the Secretary-General of the United Nations of 6th November was read out to the House on the same day by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. It stipulated that the proposed international 5 force should be competent to secure and supervise the attainment of these objectives.
§ Mr. ZilliacusDoes that mean that the Government accept the terms of reference for this force laid down by the General Assembly, and accept also that it is the Assembly which determines whether this force is competent to discharge its duties and how long it will stay in Suez?
§ Commander NobleIf the hon. Gentleman would study the Resolutions of 2nd and 5th November in conjunction with the Resolution which was passed last Saturday, 24th November, which approved the Secretary-General's aide-mémoire on the basis for the presence and functioning of the force, that will answer his Question.
§ Mr. RobensWill the Minister of State answer one question quite straightforwardly: In whose opinion must the effectiveness or competence of the force be judged, the United Nations' or Her Majesty's Government's?
§ Commander NobleAs the right hon. Gentleman well knows, that was categorically answered by my right hon. Friend the Lord Privy Seal last Thursday.
§ 6. Captain Pilkingtonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs on what date an effective United Nations Force will be able to take over responsibility in the Suez Canal Zone.
§ Commander NobleAs my hon. and gallant Friend will be aware, several units of the United Nations Emergency Force have already arrived in Egypt and Her Majesty's Government have accordingly decided to withdraw a battalion from Port Said. I am not yet in a position to foresee on what date the final transfer of responsibility will be completed.
§ Captain PilkingtonWould the Minister agree that had it not been for the Anglo-French action the Arab-Israeli war would now have been in its fifth week?
§ Commander NobleI think it has been categorically stated by Her Majesty's Government that they intervened to stop a war which might have spread.
§ Mr. BevanIs it not clear that there is a connection between our insistence 6 upon keeping these troops in Port Said and the Egyptian Government's expulsion of British nationals from Egypt? Are we not making the worst of both worlds at the present time? Is it not a fact that we have a military force in Egypt which, according to the Government's statement, was sent there in order to protect British nationals and their property and that the result is the expulsion of British nationals and the loss of property? Could anything be more shameful than the history of the Government in the last weeks?
§ Commander NobleLater today I shall answer a Question on the expulsion of British nationals from Egypt. With regard to the question of the withdrawal of our forces and the clearance of the Canal, I have nothing to add to what my right hon. Friend said last Thursday.
Mr. C. I. Orr-EwingDoes my right hon. and gallant Friend agree that if our forces were withdrawn from the Port Said area at this moment the United Nations Force would be without food and without other services which at present we are providing?
§ Commander NobleYes, that is quite correct.
§ Mr. BevanIs that so? Is it not a fact, as stated by the Lord Privy Seal, that the effectiveness of the United Nations Force in Egypt depends not upon its size at all but upon the extent to which the Egyptian Government are prepared to co-operate? Would not that cooperation be forthcoming if we cleared out?
§ Commander NobleI think that the extent to which the United Nations Force is able to do its job in Egypt also depends very much on the moral support which it is given by the United Nations.