§ 79. Mr. SumbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on progress made at the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe review conference in Vienna in respect of proposals tabled by the United Kingdom delegation aimed at ensuring freedom of transit of postal communications.
§ Mr. MellorWe, together with a number of Western countries, tabled a proposal promoting respect for the privacy and integrity of postal and telephonic communica-tions at the Vienna CSCE meeting on 18 February. There appears to be broad agreement that a provision on these general lines is desirable and we are optimistic that it will feature in any final document agreed in Vienna.
In putting forward the proposal, our CSCE delegation has repeatedly drawn attention to the need for closer observation of the spirit of the convention of the Universal Postal Union and the international telecommunication conventions in the Soviet Union and other Eastern countries.