HL Deb 11 May 1976 vol 370 cc847-9

2.40 p.m.

Lord BROCKWAY

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the second Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what reply had been made at the Law of the Sea Conference to the letter from 49 landlocked and geographically disadvantaged States asking that their legitimate rights and interests should be considered.

Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS

My Lords, the conference has devoted a great deal of time considering the claims of States which are landlocked and States which claim the status of being geographically disadvantaged. The issue has been discussed both in the conference's second Committee, and in a series of meetings called specifically for the purpose by Mr. Evensen, the leader of the Norwegian delegation.

Lord BROCKWAY

My Lords, I welcome that Answer, but is it not a fact that the landlocked nations, which now constitute a third of the world, have asked that they shall share in the revenues and in the organs of international authority which are proposed, in order to express the view that the oceans are the heritage of all mankind? Did the British delegation give support to the landlocked countries emerging there?

Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS

My Lords, that question is one of a number for which this conference was convened. The conference has met for the fourth time, and I understand that it will meet for a fifth session between 2nd August and mid-September. The question of how best to deal with geographically disadvantaged countries under the new Law of the Sea will, I have no doubt, both in committee and in plenary session, be increasingly discussed. I think that it will be within the recollection of this House, and of the other House, that the British contribution to this important conference has already been very substantial, and I have no doubt that it will continue to be so in the next session of the conference.

Lord RITCHIE-CALDER

My Lords, would my noble friend agree that the situation as it will develop in the next round will be critical in view of the fact that the American Secretary of State, Mr. Kissinger, has announced that he will be leading the delegation himself and that if there is no effective outcome of the conference the United States will go it alone?

Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS

My Lords, I am very glad to join my noble friend, who has considerable expertise in this matter, in stressing once more the urgency of this question. It is of the utmost importance that there should be an acceptable convention ruling the seas and coastal waters as a result of this conference, and at the New York meetings in August-September we shall certainly be pressing for an early and generally acceptable decision. I entirely agree with the point my noble friend has made.

Lord CLIFFORD of CHUDLEIGH

My Lords, would the noble Lord not agree that the first duty of Her Majesty's Government is to look after our own people? Can he say when there will be some arrangement whereby we can protect the fishermen, especially of the South-West, from the Russian fishing fleets "hoovering" the bed of the English Channel?

Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS

Yes, indeed, my Lords, it is the duty of the Government—of any Government—properly to protect the interests of their nationals and their national economy. The best way to do it in this context, certainly, is to work hard for a generally accepted new law of the sea.

Lord SLATER

My Lords, will my noble friend explain in simple terms what my noble friend who put down the Question really means in regard to "landlocked nations"? We would be most interested to know what is behind the description "landlocked nations".

Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS

My Lords, I am tempted to say, "So would I". However, my noble friend Lord Brockway, whose performance at Question time evokes the admiration of us all, contrives to pack into the most innocent supplementary question a veritable treatise on international affairs, so I would ask the House to forgive me if I do not rise to the bait dangled before me by my equally noble friend Lord Slater and do not answer his question.

Lord KENNET

My Lords, my noble friend has spoken of the need for a quick solution. Can he draw aside the veil from one corner of British policy by telling us who he thinks is holding it up, or who is most guilty of holding it up at the moment?

Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS

No, my Lords.