§ Mr. Philip Noel-Bakerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what proposals Her Majesty's Government intend to make for the more efficient conduct of business in the Committee of Eighteen Nations on Disarmament.
§ Mr. M. StewartAs the House is aware, Her Majesty's Government have played a full part in the discussions at the United Nations Disarmament Commission in New York, which ended its Session on 16th June. Before it closed, the Commission adopted a Resolution which called, amongst other things, for the Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Conference at Geneva to "reconvene as early as possible". It is our view that the Geneva Conference is the most experienced and business-like body for detailed consideration of disarmament questions, and the one most likely to be able to make progress towards agreement on the measures under discussion. We hope that it will prove possible to agree on an early date for a resumption of the Geneva Conference.
As regards the proposed freeze on nuclear delivery vehicles, we should like to see progress made towards agreement on President Johnson's proposal. This is a 143W measure which we think might be combined with the destruction of some of these weapons. We hope that there will be detailed discussion of these ideas as soon as the Geneva Conference reassembles.