HC Deb 21 February 1969 vol 778 cc170-2W
Mr. Whitaker

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will list the reservations which Great Britain made when signing the United Nations International Convenants on economic, social and cultural rights and on civil and political rights; and what action he is taking to remedy the causes of these reservations.

2. Mr. Goronwy Roberts

The following are the texts of the notes addressed by Her Majesty's Government to the Secretary-General of the United Nations setting out the reservations and statements of interpretation made on signature of the Covenants:

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights I have the honour to inform you that, on signing the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, opened for signature at New York on the 16th of December, 1966. the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland wish to place on record their position regarding certain matters relating to the said Covenant. First, the Government of the United Kingdom declare their understanding that, by virtue of Article 103 of the Charter of the United Nations, in the event of any conflict between their obligations under Article 1 of the Covenant and their obligations under the Charter (in particular, under Article 1, 2 and 73 thereof) their obligations under the Charter shall prevail. Secondly, the Government of the United Kingdom declare that:

  1. (a) in relation to Article 14 of the Covenant, they must reserve the right not to apply, or not to apply in full, the guarantee of free legal assistance contained in sub-paragraph (d) of paragraph 3 in so far as the shortage of legal practitioners and other considerations render the application of this guarantee in British Honduras, Fiji and St. Helena impossible;
  2. (b) in relation to Article 23 of the Covenant, they must reserve the right not to apply the first sentence of paragraph 4 in so far as it concerns any equality which may arise from the operation of the law of domicile;
  3. (c) in relation to Article 25 of the Covenant, they must reserve the right not to apply:
    1. (i) sub-paragraph (b) in so far as it may require the establishment of an elected legislature in Hong Kong and the introduction of equal suffrage, as between different electoral rolls, for elections in Fiji: and
    2. (ii) sub-paragraph (c) in so far as it applies to jury service in the Isle of Man and to the employment of married women in the Civil Service of Northern Ireland, Fiji and Hong Kong.
Lastly, the Government of the United Kingdom declare that the provisions of the Covenant shall not apply to Southern Rhodesia unless and until they inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations that they are in a position to ensure that the obligations imposed by the Covenant in respect of that territory can be fully implemented.

Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights I have the honour to inform you that, on signing the International Covenant on Econmic, Social and Cultural Rights, opened for signature at New York on the 16th of December, 1966, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland wish to place on record their position regarding certain matters relating to the said Covenant. First, the Government of the United Kingdom declare their understanding that, by virtue of Article 103 of the Charter of the United Nations, in the event of any conflict between their obligations under Article 1 of the Covenant and their obligations under the Charter (in particular, under Articles 1, 2 and 73 thereof) their obligations under the Charter shall prevail. Secondly the Government of the United Kingdom declare that they must reserve the right to postpone the application of sub-paragraph (a)(i) of Article 7 of the Covenant in so far as it concerns the provision of equal pay to men and women for equal work, since. while they fully accept this principle and are pledged to work towards its complete application at the earliest possible time, the problems of implementation are such that complete application cannot be guaranteed at present Thirdly the Government of the United Kingdom declare that, in relation to Article 8 of the Covenant, they must reserve the right not to apply sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 1 in Hong Kong, in so far as it may involve the right of trade unions not engaged in the same trade or industry to establish federations or confederations. Lastly, the Government of the United Kingdom declare that the provisions of the Covenant shall not apply to Southern Rhodesia unless and until they inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations that they are in a position to ensure that the obligations imposed by the Covenant in respect of that territory can be fully implemented.

It is the Government's aim to ratify the Covenants in due course with as few reservations as possible. The Covenants involve wide-ranging obligations, and very careful consideration will have to be given to the question of ratification. This consideration will of course include the problem of reservations, but I am not in a position at present to forecast the outcome of further examination of the various issues involved in the reservations made on signature.