§ Mr. Bakerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to what extent Her Majesty's Government, as signatory to the Geneva Convention of 1949 relating to prisoners of war, has agreed, or has been notified of any relaxation or modification of the terms of the Convention of the application to prisoners of war held by the United Nations command in Korea; and whether he will give an assurance that Her Majesty's Government, in view of inclusion of British Forces in the United Nations command, is taking all the necessary measures to ensure that the treatment, release and repatriation of all prisoners of war shall be in accordance with the terms of the Geneva Convention.
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§ Mr. NuttingHer Majesty's Government have not agreed to or been notified of any relaxation or modification in the terms of the Geneva Convention of 1949.
As regards the second part of the Question, the Communist Governments and authorities involved are not parties to this Convention and have not permitted the inspection of their prisoner-of-war camps by the International Committee of the Red Cross. It is not therefore possible to ensure that the provisions of the Convention are applied to United Nations prisoners held by them. The Convention is, however, being applied by the United Nations Command and prisoners of war held by the United Nations Command are being treated in accordance with the Convention.
As regards release and repatriation, Her Majesty's Government do not consider that the provisions of the Convention involve any obligation to effect the compulsory repatriation of prisoners who are genuinely seeking political asylum.