§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress he has made in securing agreement for an international register of arms sales.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggOur initiative for a UN register has received wide support. President Bush, President Mitterrand and Prime Minister Kaifu have endorsed the idea, and the European Council on 28 and 29 June decided that the Twelve should put forward a joint resolution to the next UN General Assembly proposing a register. At their meeting in Paris on 8 and 9 July the five permanent members of the Security Council also expressed their support for further work to this end. We are pleased that the recent report of the UN expert study group on transparency has recommended the prompt establishment of a register.