§ 68. Mr. Sorensenasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what evidence he now has of slave raiding or slave trading in recent months in Middle Eastern territories for whose international relations Her Majesty's Government are responsible; what improvement there has been in the machinery for securing information in respect of this matter; and whether ships of the Royal Navy have intercepted and searched any craft suspected of trafficking in slaves in the Red Sea or Persian Gulf.
38W
§ Mr. Selwyn LloydHer Majesty's Government have had no evidence of any case of slave raiding or slave trading for several years in Middle Eastern territories for whose international relations Her Majesty's Government are responsible. Indeed the local Rulers, with the assistance of Her Majesty's Government, appear to have been successful in eradicating the slave trade from their territories. The provisions for securing information in respect of this matter are contained in articles 3 (3) and 8 of the United Nations Convention of 1956 to which Her Majesty's Government and the territories in question are parties. Her Majesty's Government are satisfied that the local machinery in the territories in question amply fulfils the obligations contained in these articles.
So far as the interception and search by the Royal Navy of craft suspected of trafficking in slaves is concerned, I know of no incident since those mentioned in the reply given by my right hon. Friend the then Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty of 19th February, 1957, in which he said that two such vessels had been searched since 1945 but that nothing suspicious had been found.