§ 3 p.m.
§ Lord RodneyMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what further action they plan to reduce the production of cocaine and heroin in South America and Pakistan.
§ Baroness HooperMy Lords, we remain committed to supporting the efforts of the UN Fund for Drug Abuse Control and those of all producing countries in eliminating the illicit production of heroin and cocaine. In Pakistan, we have pledged £3.4 million to long-term crop substitution projects since 1984 and have provided law enforcement assistance to the government in a number of specified areas. In South 133 America we have announced expenditure of over £1 million on bilateral and United Nations projects designed to improve drugs law enforcement.
§ Lord RodneyMy Lords, I should like to thank my noble friend for that encouraging reply. Is my noble friend aware that the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs decided that a draft convention should be drawn up by August this year and be open for comment? Can my noble friend tell the House where that matter stands at the moment?
§ Baroness HooperMy Lords, yes indeed. The United Kingdom played an important role in the discussions which led to agreement on the elements to be included in the new convention, in particular in discussions in February in Vienna. It continues to contribute to drafting and to negotiations. We are currently working to see an early conclusion to the negotiation of the convention, and we intend to resume at next year's session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
§ Lord MishconMy Lords, in the recent report which was given by the noble Baroness's right honourable friend, much emphasis was placed on a plan for poppy eradication in the Dir district of Pakistan. Can the noble Baroness tell the House whether or not that plan has been successful, and can she also indicate how many liaison officers have been placed in Pakistan and South America?
§ Baroness HooperMy Lords, perhaps I may answer the last question first. In this context I believe that I am supposed to answer only one question at a time. There are United Kingdom drugs liaison officers stationed in South America, the Caribbean and in other parts of the world. The United Kingdom Government have agreed to provide the governments of South America with such other help as they are able to provide. In terms of security and personal risk to the individuals involved in this programme, it is impossible for me to give details on numbers and placements of the officers.
§ Lord Boyd-CarpenterMy Lords, are not the poppies to which reference has been made and from which this drug is produced white poppies?
§ Baroness HooperMy Lords, I believe so.
§ Lord MishconMy Lords, perhaps I may ask a serious question after a rather facetious one on an important matter. If the noble Baroness does not have information about this plan, which, as I said, was emphasised in the report on the Dir district, would she be kind enough to write to me about it? However, if she does have the information, perhaps she can give it to the House.
§ Baroness HooperMy Lords, I have a considerable amount of information about the programme in Pakistan, and it is difficult to extract the parts that are particularly relevant to the noble Lord's question. Perhaps I may write in detail to the noble Lord; but suffice it to say that action is being taken and progress is being made along the lines of the report.
§ Lord AylestoneMy Lords, are the Government satisfied that they are getting full and complete cooperation from the countries in South America, such as Colombia, Bolivia and others? Is it their view that those countries are doing everything possible to stop this terrible trade?
§ Baroness HooperYes, my Lords. In fact, following the visit of my right honourable friend the Minister of State at the Home Office in September this year, the projects in South America have taken a quite specific form. In Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia the projects in which United Kingdom investment is involved are receiving close co-operation from the countries concerned.
§ Lord Dean of BeswickMy Lords, is the Minister not aware that the taking and selling of hard drugs and the new phenomenon of AIDS are perhaps the two most damaging facets against life as we know it at present? Will the noble Baroness plead with the Government to keep the situation consistently under observation, bearing in mind that the situation as we know it may unfortunately deteriorate further?
§ Baroness HooperMy Lords, in trying to answer the noble Lord's supplementary question within the terms of the original Question, I should emphasise that support for international action to curb illicit drug production is a key element in the Government's strategy for reducing the supply of drugs. We take every suitable opportunity to raise the subject bilaterally and in multilateral fora.