HL Deb 28 November 1984 vol 457 cc998-9WA
Lord Jenkins of Putney

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether the United Kingdom delegation to the UN conference of the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva will support Article X of the United States proposed ban treaty, and what plans they have to alter Article X by allowing exemptions from inspection in certain circumstances.

Baroness Young

As my right honourable and learned friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs said in another place on 21 st November, we have made clear at the Conference on Disarmament that the verification provisions in the United States draft Chemical Weapons Treaty point to the path which the negotiations must follow if full compliance is to be assured. The United States has indicated its willingness to consider alternatives. We trust that other countries, including the Soviet Union, will demonstrate that same readiness to be flexible when the negotiations resume in January 1985.