§ 3.5 p.m.
§ THE EARL OF DUNDEEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish, in a form obtainable by Members of this House from the Printed Paper Office, the impending report of the Expert Committee of the Security Council of the United Nations appointed to consider measures against the Republic of South Africa, and whether Her Majesty's Government have yet been informed of the contents of this report.]
§ THE PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS (LORD WALSTON)My Lords, before answering this Question, may I be allowed to say how pleased we are to see the noble Lord the Leader of the Opposition back in his place, and to say how much we look forward to having before long the benefit of all he has learned in his travels in foreign parts?
In answer to the Question of the noble Earl, it is true that the Report has not 420 yet been received by Her Majesty's Government from the United Nations. Copies will be made available in the Library of this House in the normal way as soon as it has been received. Her Majesty's Government participated fully in the work of the expert Committee and are therefore aware of the contents of the Report.
§ THE EARL OF DUNDEEMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his Answer. Is he aware that it is always rather difficult for ordinary people to get hold of United Nations documents? And I wonder if he could say how many copies will be put in the Library, because, although it is unnecessary to print all publications of this kind, in this particular question of sanctions against South Africa, it is specially important that Members of Parliament should be thoroughly informed of what is happening and of what is being said by all the different delegates in the United Nations, so that we may not be confronted later on with some situation without being thoroughly familiar with the background?
§ LORD WALSTONMy Lords, I am glad to say that I could not agree more with the noble Earl when he said that it was important for Members of Parliament in both Houses to be fully informed on all these matters, and I shall certainly see that there are enough copies put in the Library to satisfy all reasonable needs.
§ LORD FRASER OF LONSDALEMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware that there are two sides to every question in this world and that it will be greatly welcome if the best possible publicity is given to this Report, so that both Houses of Parliament may be well informed by the time they come to debate this matter?
§ LORD WALSTONMy Lords, I think that the noble Lord is perhaps being over-optimistic when he speaks of their being two sides to this question. I think there are many more than two sides to this. But I repeat the assurance I have given to the noble Earl, that, so far as the Government are concerned in making the Report available, there will be ample copies.
§ LORD CARRINGTONMy Lords, may I thank the noble Lord for his courteous remarks about myself, and may 421 I ask him whether the noble Lord, Lord Caradon, was our representative on this Committee, or whether it was someone else?
§ LORD WALSTONNo, my Lords, it was an expert Committee, and while I am not suggesting that my noble friend is not an expert in many spheres, he was not, in fact, the expert on this Committee.
§ THE EARL OF DUNDEEMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware—I am sure he is—that there was, in advance of this Report, a Press communiqué about a fortnight ago giving two resolutions which were rejected and one which was accepted by the Committee. While not wishing to draw any conclusion before the Report is published, it appears from this Press communiqué that some countries recognise that the burden of sanctions would fall almost wholly, or at least very largely, on the United Kingdom, but that no specific proposals at all were made with a view to sharing the burden with other countries, who were pressing most strongly for sanctions but whose economies would not be adversely affected at all by their application.
§ LORD WALSTONMy Lords, the noble Earl is even more aware than I am of the weight that should be given to Press reports and the dangers of making up one's mind simply from Press reports. Therefore, I would urge upon him, before he makes up his mind, to adhere to the good resolution he just tells me he has made, to await the publication of the Report.
§ LORD FRASER OF LONSDALEMy Lords, can the noble Lord say when this document may become available?
§ LORD WALSTONMy Lords, it is available at the moment in the United Nations, but Her Majesty's Government have not yet received it.
§ LORD FRASER OF LONSDALEIs it a public document?
§ LORD WALSTONMy Lords, it is a United Nations document, and, so far as I know, it is freely available to anybody who wishes to get it from the United Nations.