TERRORISM AND HIJACKING (Hansard, 5 December 1978)

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

§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS
My Lords, the United Kingdom is co-operating in a number of ways with other countries in the fight against terrorism. Discussions regularly take place with our EEC partners in an effort to improve practical and juridical co-operation. In the Council of Europe we are one of the five member States to have signed and ratified the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism which provides that certain offences of the kind most likely to be committed by terrorists are not to be regarded as offences of a political character for the purposes of extradition between contracting States. In the United Nations we have given our strong support to a draft convention which it is hoped will oblige contracting States to extradite or prosecute those who engage in the taking of hostages.
In answer to the latter part of the noble Lord's Question, I have assumed that he meant those countries which have not yet become parties to the various conventions and are thus not bound by them and, with permission, I shall arrange for the lists of those countries based on the latest available information to be printed in the Official Report.

Lord JANNER
My Lords, I thank my noble friend, and I apologise for the error in the Question itself. Of course the word should have been "ratified". May I ask my noble friend what steps are being taken in view of the latest statement which has been made, that Libya is providing the PLO with a submarine and that people are being trained in another country in order to man it? In view of the terrible effect of the hijackings which have gone on for so long, and of the other steps taken by the terrorists, will my noble friend go into this matter and, if he can possibly manage it, see to it that this cannot proceed and do whatever he can to prevent what will become an extremely serious action not only against Israel but obviously, in the same way as hijackings were, against all citizens wherever they may be?

§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS
Yes, my Lords, certainly arms transfers, especially of this kind, if they prove to be quite as my noble friend has described them, can only exacerbate the situation further. It is clearly in the interests of 12 us all, of all countries, of all national Governments, not to take part in such transfers with whatever organisations which may result in further and more serious breaches of the numerous conventions on civil aviation safety to which the greater part of the world so far has adhered. I have the list of countries which have signed the Hague, Montreal and Tokyo Conventions and which I shall publish in the Official Report. Very encouraging progress has been made in securing adherence to these truly effective conventions once they are comprehensively observed throughout the world. I join my noble friend in expressing deep concern about the kind of arms transfer in the circumstances he described.

§ Lord HAILSHAM of SAINT MARYLEBONE
My Lords, will the noble Lord take the advice of the Law Officers on whether the use of a submarine otherwise than by a formed navy of a national State for the purposes of violence would not constitute piracy on the high seas both at common law and international law?

§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS
Most certainly, my Lords, and I shall convey that intervention. I purposely stressed the definition "national States and national Governments" in contra-distinction to organisations of whatever kind, and I am most grateful to the noble and learned Lord for emphasising the point and putting it so concretely.

Lord PAGET of NORTHAMPTON
My Lords, further to what the noble and learned Lord, Lord Hailsham of Saint Marylebone, suggested, may I ask my noble friend whether it does not now seem that the barbaric pirates both on land and in the air are in business again? Does my noble friend recollect that the Barbary pirates were suppressed by a European coalition which this country led?

§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS
Yes, my Lords, and while I cannot emulate my noble friend's knowledge of history, particularly piratical history, I have no doubt that, on questions of this sort and in this area of human activity, he is to be depended upon. It is true that in the past ad hoc coalitions have effectively intervened in situations of this kind. We have today 13 of course a world organisation, the United Nations, through which curative and protective action of this kind is deemed to be best asserted. To that extent, not unusually, I am in general agreement with my noble friend.

Lord INGLEWOOD
My Lords, will the Minister confirm that among the number of ways he mentioned as being taken to suppress terrorism is a meeting between the Ministers of the Interior of a number of States in one of the capitals of Europe either this week or next? Is Britain represented at that conference and, after that conference, will he be prepared to make a Statement?

§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS
My Lords, that will be a Statement, if it proves to be the form in which an announcement is made, best made by my noble friend the Minister of State at the Home Office, Lord Harris of Greenwich, who was the British representative at the Bonn meeting a few days ago. He recently attended that meeting, which sought to apply the European Convention more effectively to these situations, and it was, I understand, a meeting which yielded good results. I am sure that he, if the House so decided, would make an announcement which described the general tenor of that meeting.

Lord JANNER
My Lords, may I ask my noble friend——

§ Baroness LLEWELYN-DAVIES of HASTOE
My Lords, I hope my noble friend will forgive me for intervening. Obviously, these piratical questions have tremendous interest for the House, but I would remind noble Lords that we have spent just over 28 minutes on Questions. We have a lot of business to deal with and I hope my noble friend Lord Janner, who asked the Question, will forgive me if I say I think the feeling of the House is that we should now move on.

Lord JANNER
Perhaps my noble friend will forgive me, my Lords, if I put what will be a very short supplementary question and one which is very material. I should like to know whether my noble friend is prepared to suppress any organisations from having activities in this country, including the PLO which is encouraging this new act as well as the old ones.

§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS
My Lords, that is hardly a short question and is hardly answerable by a short answer, so I will spare my noble friend and your Lordships' House from dealing with the question as it should be dealt with and suggest that my noble friend raises it on a more appropriate and extended occasion than today at Question Time.
Following is the information referred to:
The following countries are not yet parties to the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism:

Belgium

Cyprus

France

Greece

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Lichtenstein

Luxembourg

Malta

Netherlands

Norway

Portugal

Spain

Switzerland

Turkey

The following countries are not yet parties to the Hague Convention for the Suppression of the Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft (1970):

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Angola

Bahrain

Bhutan

Bolivia

Botswana

Burma

Burundi

Cameroon

Central African Empire

People's Republic of China

Comoros

Congo

Cuba

Djibouti

Dominica

Equatorial Guinea

Ethiopia

Gambia

Guatemala

Guinea

Haiti

Honduras

India

Jamaica

Kuwait

Liberia

Laos

Madagascar

Malaysia

Maldives

Malta

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mozambique

Nepal
15
Qatar

Rwanda

Sao Tomé & Principe

Seychelles

Somalia

Sudan

Surinam

Swaziland

Syria

Tanzania

Togo

Tunisia

United Arab Emirates

Upper Volta

Venezuela

Western Samoa

Yemen Arab Republic

People's Democratic Republic of Yemen

Zambia

The following countries are not yet parties to the Montreal Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation (1971):

Afghanistan

Albania

Algeria

Angola

Bahamas

Bahrain

Benin

Bhutan

Bolivia

Botswana

Burma

Burundi

Central African Empire

People's Republic of China

Comoros

Congo

Cuba

Djibouti

Dominica

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Ethiopia

Gambia

Guatemala

Guinea

Haiti

Honduras

India

Jamaica

Kampuchea

Kuwait

Laos

Liberia

Luxembourg

Madagascar

Malaysia

Maldives

Malta

Mauritania

Mauritius

Mozambique

Nepal

Qatar

Rwanda

Sao Tomé & Principe

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

Somalia

Sudan
16
Surinam

Swaziland

Syria

Tanzania

Togo

Tunisia

United Arab Emirates

Uganda

Upper Volta

Venezuela

Vietnam

Western Samoa

Yemen Arab Republic

People's Democratic Republic of Yemen

Zambia

The following countries are not yet parties to the Tokyo Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft (1963):

Albania

Algeria

Angola

Bahrain

Benin

Bhutan

Bolivia

Botswana

Bulgaria

Burma

Cameroon

Canada

Cape Verde

Central African Empire

People's Republic of China

Comoros

Congo

Cuba

Czechoslavia

Djibouti

El Salvador

Equatorial Guinea

Ethiopia

Gambia

German Democratic Republic

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Haiti

Honduras

Jamaica

Kampuchea

Kuwait

Liberia

Malaysia

Maldives

Malta

Mauritius

Mongolia

Mozambique

Nepal

Qatar

Sao Tomé& Principe

Seychelles

Somalia

Sudan

Surinam

Swaziland

Syria

Tanzania

Tonga

United Arab Emirates

Uganda

USSR

Venezuela

Vietnam
17
Western Samoa

Yemen Arab Republic

People's Democratic Republic of Yemen.