HC Deb 15 January 1997 vol 288 cc321-2
21. Mrs. Helen Jackson

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on British Government policy towards the United Nations. [9253]

Sir Nicholas Bonsor

We remain wholeheartedly committed to the UN's purposes and principles.

Mrs. Jackson

Does the Minister agree that the UN peacekeeping force in Angola, including the British contingent, has been vital in maintaining peace in Angola, in clearing land mines and in improving the security of the people who live there? Is he happy with the UN proposal to pull out of Angola in one month's time? What is he doing to ensure that a peacekeeping operation continues, thus ensuring the viability of peace in Angola?

Sir Nicholas Bonsor

I agree that the UN's role in Angola has been significant. It is important that its work is not lost, but the need for a continued presence is a matter for the UN members involved to discuss between themselves. I am not clear whether that presence will need to continue, or whether the job will be deemed to have been done.

Sir Jim Lester

What is the new Secretary-General likely to seek to achieve in terms of reorganisation? How quickly could we get countries that have not paid their dues and demands to pay them to the UN, so that it no longer operates with a shortage of money, which has been its biggest problem in the past five years?

Sir Nicholas Bonsor

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving me a chance to say two things. First, I welcome the opportunity of congratulating Kofi Annan on his appointment: in the view of Her Majesty's Government, he is an excellent choice for the job, and we are confident that he will succeed in carrying through the reforms of the United Nations that we seek.

As for the financing of the United Nations, I am much encouraged by the United States Administration's statement of their intention to pay the arrears that they undoubtedly owe. I must add a word of caution: that is subject to ratification by Congress. Nevertheless, it is certainly a move in the right direction.

Mr. Tony Lloyd

The Minister seems to be unaware that the United Nations peacekeeping force in Angola is to be removed simply because the money has run out. Is that not disgraceful? The removal of the force could return Angola to a state of civil war, just because of a lack of money. Will the Minister tell the House that he will get in touch with the United Nations, and ensure that the lack of money cannot be used as a reason for withdrawing a legitimate and workable peacekeeping operation?

Sir Nicholas Bonsor

It is a marvellous feature of the Opposition that, although they always decry our colonial past, they are the first to try to persuade the Government that we can run the world single-handed. I am not in a position to tell the United Nations what it must do, but I will certainly do all that I can to ensure that the arrears owed to it are paid, and that it is reorganised so that it can become more efficient.