§ 28. Mr. Maclennanasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if Her Majesty's Government will lend support to the proposal of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe to organise a Parliamentary Conference on Human Rights in Vienna this year.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Anthony Kershaw)Her Majesty's Government have some reservations about the usefulness of this conference. Nevertheless, as a decision has been taken to hold the conference, we hope that it will produce some interesting ideas.
§ Mr. MaclennanThe Minister will agree that that is a very surprising reply. Why should the Government have any reservations about the desirability of Parliamentarians throughout Europe seeking to strengthen the institutions of co-operation in the field of human rights and to improve the substantive law? Will the Government give more openhanded, generous and forthcoming support in this field?
§ Mr. KershawThere are already many opportunity for the discussion of human rights to take place, under the aegis of the Council of Europe, in the United Nations and elsewhere. Therefore, we are not inhibiting any discussion by not backing this conference with absolute enthusiasm. Further, some of the proposals before the conference are a little difficult to implement—for instance, the proposal that we should have simultaneous legislation in the legislatures of the members of the Council of Europe.