§ Lord BROCKWAYasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are aware that the British representative at the United Nations Conference on crime prevention deserves to be congratulated on his contributions to the conclusions reached and whether they will record those conclusions on the subjects both of degrading punishment and international terrorism.
§ The MINISTER of STATE, HOME OFFICE (Lord Harris of Greenwich)On behalf of my right honourable friends I am happy to acknowledge my noble friend's remarks and to convey them to 451WA the members of the United Kingdom delegation to the United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders which took place in Geneva earlier this month. It is a matter of much satisfaction to Her Majesty's Government that national delegations to the Congress, aided by valuable contributions from the non-governmental organisations represented at it, were able to reach agreement on the form of a Declaration unreservedly condemning the practice of torture, which will now be 452WA submitted to the General Assembly of the United Nations. The Congress found it more difficult to reach significant agreement on the subject of international terrorism, though some progress was made; it remains the policy of Her Majesty's Government to give full support to international action aimed at curbing this evil.
House adjourned at eleven o'clock