HC Deb 08 March 1988 vol 129 cc127-8W
Mr. Latham

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the action of the British delegation(a) before and (b) during the speech to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva by Mr. Yasser Arafat; whether the action of the British delegation was co-ordinated in advance with that of the United States of America; and whether any protest has been made by the British delegation to the chairman of the Commission about (a) allowing Mr. Arafat to speak from the podium and (b) the violence of his language against another member state.

Mr. Mellor

We and other Western delegations expressed to the chairman of the Human Rights Commission our vigorous opposition to the proposal to extend exceptional privileges to Mr. Arafat, but the majority of members were in favour and the chairman ruled accordingly. A junior member of the United Kingdom delegation was present during Mr. Arafat's speech. The level of representation was discussed in advance with other Western delegations, but not specifically co-ordinated with that of the United States. We have made no protest about the content of Mr. Arafat's speech.