§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government propose to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966; and why they have not previously done so.
§ Mr. EnnalsOur signature of the covenant indicates an intention to ratify in due course. It has been the policy of successive United Kingdom Governments not to assume international legal obligations unless we are first satisfied that these can be fulfilled. The work necessary to determine whether the law and practice of both the United Kingdom and each dependent territory is in conformity with the provisions of an international instrument as wide-ranging as the covenant is extremely involved and, therefore, time consuming.