§ Lord BROCKWAYMy 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 make a Statement on the conclusions of the Geneva Conference on Racism and the participation of the British delegation.
§ The MINISTER of STATE, FOREIGN and COMMONWEALTH OFFICE (Lord Goronwy-Roberts)My Lords, the conference adopted a declaration and programme of action which, as well as containing references which ran counter to United Kingdom policy on Southern Africa, linked Israel with racism. The United Kingdom and other members of the Nine could not accept this distortion of its basic aims and withdrew from the conference.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, is the Minister aware that the Arab nations actually deleted from the declaration the statement that Zionism was racist and that the only references to Israel concerned protection for Palestinians in occupied areas and their relations with South Africa? Does not the walkout by the British and other representatives give an impression to the African representatives that we were opposed to economic restrictions and trade with South Africa and the United Nations embargo on arms?
§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, I cannot agree with my noble friend that the declaration, as I have it before me, is not an attempt to equate Israel with racism. Paragraphs 18 and 19 are too lengthy to be quoted at Question Time, 890 but I will make them available to my noble friend. I hope that he will understand why not only the British representative but the representatives of the Nine decided that they could no longer continue in these discussions on that basis.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, is the Minister aware that I have read this declaration and those two clauses? It makes no reference at all to Zionism as being racist. Those two statements apply only to the protection of Arabs in the occupied territories and Israel's relations with South Africa.
§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, my noble friend and I and everybody else in the Nine must beg to disagree. Paragraph 18 says, among other things, that the conference "condemns the existing and increasing relations between the Zionist State of Israel and the racist regime of South Africa". This is a clear attempt to link the Israeli nation with racial policies.
§ Baroness GAITSKELLMy Lords, may I ask the Minister this question: Is it not disgraceful that it has taken so long for this sentence about Zionism and racism linked together to be got rid of—if that is so— by my noble friend Lord Brockway? It has taken all this time and the conference statement is really disgraceful.
§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, I hope that we will not quarrel unduly about interpretations of this declaration. What is important is that Europe acting together—the Community acting together—saw the matter in this light and made a proper protest on a matter of far-reaching importance, as my noble friend Lady Gaitskell has reminded us. In the meantime, having made our attitude to this perfectly clear, we and our friends in Europe propose to continue to serve the objectives of anti-racism and anti-apartheid, but not within the ambit of this declaration.
§ Lord SEGALMy Lords, is my noble friend aware that all fair-minded opinion throughout the world will endorse the attitude of the British delegation in this matter in opposition to a declaration that is not conducive towards peace in the Middle East?
§ Lord GORONWY-ROBERTSMy Lords, I am quite sure that my noble friend is right. If we had not protested with our friends against the implications of this declaration, it would have stirred up further enmities, further hostilities, in the Middle East. As it is, it has had a very good effect on world opinion. I am very glad to confirm my noble friend's statement on that score.