HC Deb 21 June 1965 vol 714 cc1185-7
23. Mr. A. Henderson

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement on the progress made by the United Nations Special Committee on Peace-keeping Operations.

45. Mr. Ennals

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what proposals Her Majesty's Government have submitted to the United Nations Special Committee on Peace-keeping Operations.

Mr. M. Stewart

The United Nations Peace-keeping Committee adjourned on 15th June after agreeing on an interim report to the General Assembly. It can be reconvened at any time to continue its work. We are in broad agreement with its conclusions so far as they go.

We have played an active part in all discussions on peace-keeping that have been taking place in New York and have stressed the following points: Primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security rests with the Security Council. However, the General Assembly also has power in this respect and the two bodies should be considered complementary and not competitive.

It falls to the General Assembly to make financial assessments for the cost of peace-keeping operations in accordance with Article 17 of the Charter. The General Assembly may, however, select from a range of alternative methods of financing, which is appropriate to a particular operation.

We believe that the Secretary-General of the United Nations should have at his disposal adequate staff for carrying out peace-keeping operations.

We attach great importance to evolving procedures for peacekeeping by consent. This is the sort of operation which has in fact been undertaken by the United Nations, not to coerce any state but to assist in preserving peace and stability while a political settlement is being found.

Mr. Henderson

While welcoming my right hon. Friend's statement, may I ask whether he would not agree that the discussions in the Special Committee have been bedevilled by the dispute over past liabilities, especially as regards the Soviet Union and France, as distinct from dealing with the problem of future disputes? Would not my right hon. Friend propose that the two should be separated so that the question of getting the United Nations out of the red should be treated as distinct from getting agreements on future organisation for peace-keeping?

Mr. Stewart

Yes, Sir. I think that I would agree with my right hon. Friend on those points, and in this connection I would ask him to await a statement which I am to make at the end of Questions.

Mr. Ennals

Is my right hon. Friend aware of how much we on this side of the House, and I hope on the other side, appreciate the constructive rôle played by the Government in this Special Committee, and also the initiative shown by my right hon. Friend earlier in offering a British contribution? Can my right hon. Friend say whether reports are correct that Britain has offered to make a voluntary contribution toward helping to solve the financial problems which lie behind this problem?

Mr. Stewart

I am obliged to my hon. Friend. As to the latter part of his supplementary question I would ask him to await my statement at the end of Questions.

Mr. Peter Thomas

Is the Foreign Secretary aware that reports have been received that the President of the Special Committee, Mr. Quayson-Sackey, has said that the Committee would reconvene in August? Is this so? If it is, would the right hon. Gentleman say that he hopes that the Committee will be able to reach a conclusion before the General Assembly meets at some time in the autumn?

Mr. Stewart

I am not sure about its meeting in August, but I have every hope that the General Assembly will be able to resume its work in September.

Mr. Longden

Can the right hon. Gentleman say what effect the report of the Special Committee, which seems very useful as far as it goes, will have in future on special agreements for peacekeeping provided for in Article 43 of the Charter?

Mr. Stewart

I do not know that it particularly affects them. We want to see the machinery of agreements under Article 43 continued, but that I think is a parallel development.