§ Mr. Peter Bottomleyasked the Lord Privy Seal if he will make a statement on the reaction of Her Majesty's 15W Government to the atrocities in El Salvador and on the British abstention on the vote in the Human Rights Committee at the United Nations on El Salvador.
§ Mr. Canavanasked the Lord Privy Seal (1) whether he will make a statement about the British abstention at the United Nations on the resolution condemning the violation of human rights by the Government of El Salvador;
(2) whether he will instruct the British representative at the United Nations to support future resolutions condemning the violation of human rights by the Government of El Salvador.
§ Mr. RidleyAs has been said on a number of occasions, Her Majesty's Government deplore the violence taking place in El Salvador. My right hon. and noble Friend has sent a message to the Salvadorean Government expressing his concern. We abstained in the Third Committee vote because the resolution appeared unbalanced in singling out the Salvadorean Government for blame. However, we supported the call for an investigation by the Human Rights Commission.
We are watching the situation closely and will decide on any further vote in accordance with our principle of condemning violations of human rights whenever they occur.