§ Mr. George Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government will participate in the conference, to be organised in 1983 by the Council of Europe, on Europe's contribution towards improvement of North-South relations and better preservation of the earth's resources.
§ Mr. George Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made towards the conference of Ministers of Labour of Council of Europe member States due to be held in Paris in 1983; and what his Department is doing in relation to the British contribution.
§ Mr. HurdThe exact timing of the conference has yet to be decided. An ad hoc committee of senior officials has been entrusted with the preparation of the conference, and will meet for the first time in Strasbourg from 26 to 28 May. The meeting will be attended by a senior official from the Department of Employment who will be assisted by the United Kingdom permanent delegation to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg.
245W
§ Mr. George Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on progress of the initiatives taken by the Council of Europe in the defence of democracy against terrorism in Europe.
§ Mr. HurdThe United Kingdom takes a firm stand against terrorism. We welcome the work undertaken by the Council of Europe. The United Kingdom has ratified the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism and the Suppression of Terrorism Act 1978 gives effect to it. We continue to regard the convention as one of the essential elements in judicial co-operation in the fight against terrorism. The Government therefore support in large measure Assembly recommendation 941, which is shortly to be considered by Ministers' Deputies in Strasbourg.