§ Mr. Ennalsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1) what request Her Majesty's Government has received from Working Group C of the Preparatory Committee for the Denuclearisation of Latin-America to give assurances to the effect that they will respect the legal instrument on the denuclearisation of Latin-America; and what reply has been sent;
(2) what invitation Her Majesty's Government has received from Working Group A of the Preparatory Committee for the Denuclearisation of Latin-America inviting Her Majesty's Government to appoint observers to meetings of the Working Group; and what reply was sent;
(3) what communications he has received from Working Group A of the Preparatory Committee for the Denuclearisation of Latin-America; and what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government in respect of those territories in the area over which Her Majesty's Government has sovereignty.
§ Mr. George ThomsonWe have received no communications from the working groups that were set up at the first meeting of the Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearisation of Latin-America in March. It would be premature to decide what our reactions would be until we know precisely what requests or questions they will put to us.
As a general principle, Her Majesty's Government would welcome the creation of nuclear-free zones in certain areas as useful measures towards general and complete disarmament, provided that each 192W zone was formed freely and voluntarily by all militarily significant states, and preferably by all states, in the region, that adequate arrangements for effective international verification appropriate to the region were made and that the existing military balance was not disturbed.