United Nations (United Kingdom Vote) (Hansard, 7 July 1988)

§ Mr. Eggar

The explanation of vote made by the United Kingdom representative on United Nations resolution 42/231 was as followsIn welcoming the adoption of this Resolution I should like to make the following points about my Government's position. The British Government has consistently made clear its support for the efforts of the Central American countries to achieve a comprehensive and lasting solution to the region's problems. We welcomed the Guatemala Agreement, and have likewise welcomed subsequent steps to implement it. We also recognise that efforts towards economic and social development are an important element in the success of the peace process and the achievement of political stability in the region. My Government fully endorses the statement by the Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany on behalf of the European Community and its member states. We would like to reiterate to the Secretary General and to his personal representative, Senor Ramirez Ocampo, our sincere appreciation for the leadership shown in elaborating the Special Plan of Economic Co-operation for Central America. We undertake to use our best efforts to ensure that our assistance to the Central American countries is co-ordinated with other donors, though specific suggestions and proposals contained in the Special Plan will require urgent study by all the competent organisations. Mr. President,my Government shares the concerns expressed in this debate at the burden of foreign debt which is acting as a brake on the economic recovery of the region. For this reason we have welcomed recent developments in the so-called 'menu-approach', involving as they do market based solutions voluntarily agreed between debtors and commercial bank creditors, such as debt equity conversions and recent debt exchange schemes which reduce the existing stock of debt. My Government is not able to enter into any commitment on the new proposals concerning debt made in the relevant paragraphs and annexes of the Special Plan, but I can assure you that they will be studied carefully. My Government has always considered that bilateral commercial debt is a matter between debtor governments and the creditor banks. We should therefore like to encourage the Central American governments to discuss the proposals in the plan with the creditor institutions concerned. We believe that such discussions are the best way of finding solutions to the debt problem suited to the individual requirements of debtor governments. It is in this spirit that we have supported the Resolution.

£ million (rounded)
	1982–83 Outturn	1983–84 Outturn	1984–85 Outturn	1985–86 Outturn	1986–87 Outturn	1987–88 Outturn	1988–89 Outturn	1989–90 Outturn	1990–91 Outturn
BBC Monitoring Service	2.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Foreign Compensation Commission	—	—	—	—	0.4	2.8	0.8	0.4	0.4
ODA Contribution to FCO Scholarships Award Scheme	—	—	—	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.7	0.7
TOTAL	2.0	—	—	0.6	1.0	3.4	1.5	1.1	1.1

The figures given are consistent with those given by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury in his answer on 27 May 1988, at column 375, updated to take account of decisions subsequent to the 1987 public expenditure survey; figures relate to receipts in respect of programme expenditure only; receipts in respect of running costs expenditure are not included.