§ 10. Mr. O'HaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the financing of United Nations peacekeeping operations. [12352]
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Sir Nicholas Bonsor)United Nations peacekeeping operations are financed by contributions from all UN member states, levied according to a scale of assessments. We attach importance to prompt and full payment of assessed contributions by all member states.
§ Mr. O'HaraDoes the Minister think that the United Nations has a peacekeeping role to play in the sovereignty dispute between Greece and Turkey over the island of Imia, in the Aegean sea? Or does he accept, as has the Government of France this week, that sovereignty over the group of islands was clearly determined by the agreement between Italy and Turkey in 1932, and by the Paris peace agreement of 1947, whereby sovereignty was transferred to Greece? Does he agree that it is neither lawful nor helpful for any one state unilaterally to abrogate such agreements and that, in the words of the time-honoured diplomatic dictum, pacta sunt servanda?
§ Sir Nicholas BonsorI am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving me notice of his supplementary question, and even more grateful that he stuck to it. I am especially grateful because I must confess that I had to get help in translating the Latin tag, which apparently means that treaties should be honoured. I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman in that sentiment. However, in the dispute between Greece and Turkey over the small and uninhabitable island of Imia, the question of sovereignty has not been resolved. It is for the parties to the dispute to resolve it peacefully between themselves. I am deeply concerned by the actions that have been taken so far, and I believe that today there is a threat of more military action. It is very important, not least to NATO, to which both those countries belong, that the problem be 322 solved peacefully. In due course the United Nations may have to play a part, but at the moment I hope that the two parties can sort things out themselves.
§ Mr. Anthony CoombsDoes my hon. Friend agree that one way to reduce Britain's £27 million a year contribution to the peacekeeping force in Cyprus, which would also, more importantly, work towards reunifying the island, is to adopt a demilitarisation proposal? Is he aware that such a proposal has recently received the support of the United States Senate? Does he agree that that would go a long way to solving some of the problems between the two communities?
§ Sir Nicholas BonsorIt is extremely important that a solution for Cyprus is found. I am not sure whether demilitarisation will prove to be the panacea for something that has taken us so long to try to resolve, but it is certainly worthy of our close consideration.
§ Mr. Tony LloydWill the Minister confirm that, even as this House is sitting, the United Nations is in a state of financial crisis, the peacekeeping budget is being raided to fund the UN's general operations and the entire organisation is virtually on the point of collapse? What pressure will the Government bring to bear on Governments such as the United States whose outstanding UN bill is enormous? Will the Government specifically support Boutros Boutros-Ghali's call for an extraordinary emergency meeting of the General Assembly to discuss the reform of UN finances?
§ Sir Nicholas BonsorI entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman that the state of the United Nations finances is disastrous and must be sorted out. At the moment, the UN is owed about £1.7 billion of its peacekeeping budget, of which £816 million is owed by the United States of America. A further £580 million or so of the UN's general budget is owed. That is an intolerable burden and must be sorted out. Under the European Union, Great Britain and France have put forward four proposals to try to solve the problems. They are: first, to tighten penalties on non-payers; secondly, to accelerate repayment of arrears; thirdly, to reform the scales of assessment; and, fourthly, to tighten control of UN expenditure. If the EU initiative succeeds, it will not be necessary to hold an extraordinary general meeting. Unless some action is taken in the next few months, the United Nations will face a financial crisis, which could threaten its future.
§ Dr. TwinnDoes my hon. Friend accept that the dispute in the Aegean is not only about a single uninhabited island but is a wide-ranging dispute, which if allowed to get out of hand would have grave consequences for peace in the region? Does he further agree that Turkey has given no good reason for abrogating its international agreements, which have held for more than half a century, and that it should return to honouring what it has honoured in practice for 50 years?
§ Sir Nicholas BonsorI certainly agree with my hon. Friend that the dispute in the Aegean threatens world peace. The prospect of two NATO nations on the eastern flank of NATO coming so close to major conflict must cause us all grave concern. I do not share my hon. Friend's view of the merits of the case. It is far from 323 clear whether Turkey or Greece is responsible. Indeed, we should be concentrating not on that, but on the need to find a peaceful solution to the settlement. We should get involved not in the merits of one side's action or the other's, but urge them to negotiate a peaceful solution and not fight each other over that ridiculously small island.