§ 65. Miss Devlinasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the reasons which have prevented the Government from ratifying international declarations on human rights; and whether he will make a statement on future policy in this respect.
§ Mr. LuardInternational declarations are not normally subject to ratification. As my right hon. Friend the then Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs told my hon. Friend the Member for Billericay (Mr. Moonman) on 25th February, the United Kingdom is a party 183W to nine instruments in this field concluded under United Nations auspices;and since then the United Kingdom has become a party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. That reply also gave the reasons which had so far prevented ratification by the United Kingdom of certain international instruments in the human rights field.
It remains the Governments's policy to ratify international instruments on human rights where their terms are acceptable to us and when we are satisfied that our law and practice adequately conform to those terms.