HC Deb 24 June 1959 vol 607 cc1180-1
29. Mr. Bevan

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in which of the channels of the United Nations the question of freedom of passage for shipping through the Suez Canal is now being discussed.

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

The Secretary-General of the United Nations is himself actively engaged in dealing with this problem, as he has made clear in public statements.

Mr. Bevan

But is not this an exceedingly unsatisfactory situation? Did not the Security Council declare that Egypt had no business, either in peace or war, to obstruct the passage of ships through the Canal? Ought not we to take up the matter with very much more urgency, rather than see this interference with Israeli shipping all the time? We might, of course, be able to make a rather better contribution to the passage of ships through the Canal than we did by encouraging the blocking of the Canal by war.

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

The important thing is to carry out those procedures that are most likely to bring about a result. The Israeli Government have taken up the matter at the United Nations, The Secretary-General himself is taking an interest in it, and is shortly leaving for Cairo. I think that we had better see what happens.

Mr. Bevan

Is the Minister of State aware that we on this side are very delighted with the rebuke that he has given to his own Government and to his hon. Friends, because their way was extremely unlikely to open the Canal? However, is not this a very slow-moving business? Over and over again we have incidents of this sort declared to be illegal by the Security Council, yet apparently we are unable to bring any pressure at all on Egypt?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

As I say, the Secretary-General is leaving very shortly for Cairo, and I really think that it would be better to see what result he gets with the U.A.R. Government.

Mr. S. Silverman

Does not the right hon. Gentleman realise how very unsatisfactory the position is? Is it not one of the Government's great difficulties in doing anything effective now that long before the Suez adventure, which weakened our moral authority, they had failed to make any adequate representations during seven years of closure of the Canal to Israeli shipping? In view of the Government's misconduct in the past, are the Egyptians likely to take them very seriously now?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

I do not know about that. I should not think that that necessarily follows. In any case, we are not taking unilateral action at the present time—the Secretary-General is.

Dame Florence Horsbrugh

Has not my right hon. Friend noticed that, although we all know that action by the United Nations is apt to be slow, hon. Gentlemen opposite are now asking us to act as individuals, and not to wait to act in common with the United Nations?