§ 11.8 a.m.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken and propose to take for dealing with the hijacking of planes; and whether they will now support the proposal of Pilots' Associations that countries harbouring hijackers should be refused facilities for aircraft services.
1245§ BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIEMy Lords, the International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations asked the Secretary-General of the United Nations for action to carry out previous decisions in the United Nations and the International Civil Aviation Organisation. We are supporting proposals for action of this kind in both organisations. We fully share the anxiety of the pilots for effective international co-operation to suppress hijacking and violence against civil aviation.
LORD JANNERMy Lords, while thanking the noble Baroness for that reply, may I ask whether she will now say that she will definitely support the suggestion of the Pilots' Association, that any country harbouring these criminals shall not be given air facilities? Is it not perfectly clear that this would stop conspirators in one country arranging, as they did in the case of Lod, for murderers to go to another country, which, even though it was not hijacking in the ordinary sense, nevertheless resulted in a kind of hijacking? Is the noble Baroness prepared to go to the extent of saying that this is the method by which we shall prevent hijacking, because no hijacker, or anybody conspiring or arranging to hijack, will find harbour in any country? Is it not about time that we said that the peace of the world is being endangered by the kind of action which these people are taking?
§ BARONESS TWEEDSMUIR OF BELHELVIEMy Lords, I share the noble Lord's anxiety. I am very glad to say that we shall to-day support in the ICAO Council a proposal to resume consideration of a draft convention on this subject put forward by the United States and Canada, on which work was stopped by a decision of the ICAO Assembly last year.