§ Lord Brockwayasked Her Majesty's Government:
What decision was reached at the meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission at Geneva on 9th March on a resolution calling for the postponement of the election in El Salvador; how the British representative voted; and how the representatives of each of the NATO countries voted.
§ Lord CarringtonThe resolution tabled following the presentation of the report of the special representative on human rights in El Salvador was adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Commission meeting in Geneva on 11th March by 25 votes to five with 13 abstentions. The United Kingdom delegate abstained on the grounds that we were not prepared to prejudge the report of the United Kingdom observers being sent to monitor the elections in El Salvador, but made it clear that we supported the proposal to extend the mandate of the special representative for a further year.
Of the NATO countries, the United States voted against; the Federal Republic of Germany and Canada abstained; and Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece and France supported the resolution. Belgium, Norway, Turkey, Portugal and Iceland have observer status only on the commission and cannot vote.