§ Lord Brockwayasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will make a statement on the proceedings at Ottawa of the human rights conference according to the 1975 Helsinki Final Act.
§ The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Young)Representatives of the 35 signatory states to the CSCE Final Act met in Ottawa from 7th May to 17th June to discuss human rights and fundamental freedoms, in accordance with the mandate set down in the Madrid Concluding Document. The meeting was divided between a review 637WA of implementation of the CSCE human rights provisions to date and consideration of conclusions and recommendations to be submitted to the governments of participating states.
It was not possible to reach agreement on any final document at the meeting. We had not expected, in the time available, to be able to agree substantive new commitments, nor would this have been appropriate when existing ones remain so far from fulfilment. But we had hoped for further clarification and precision of existing commitments, and some greater mutual understanding as to how they might be observed. We regret that the meeting was unable to achieve this. It did, however, provide a valuable opportunity for detailed discussion on specific human rights issues. We, and our Western allies, were able to make clear our concerns about implementation directly to the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries, and to ensure that there is no misunderstanding in the East of the importance that we attach to their fulfilment of the Helsinki and Madrid human rights commitments. Discussion of the humanitarian aspects of the CSCE process will continue at the meeting on human contacts which is to be held in Berne in the spring of next year.