§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the non-governmental organisations present at the meeting on defence and disarmament developments held at the Foreign Office on 18 October; and if he will set out the main areas of non-governmental organisation concerns and disagreements with his Department's policies.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI held a meeting with non-governmental organisations interested in arms control and disarmament issues on 18 October. The major topics discussed at the meeting, held under Chatham house rules, were nuclear non-proliferation, START, the partial test ban treaty, conventional arms control, chemical weapons, international arms transfers, and East-West relations.
The following organisations took part:
The Council for Education in World Citizenship, Church of England Board for Social Responsibility, the European Atlantic movement, the National Peace Council, Peace 64W Through NATO, Quaker Peace and Service, Scientists Against Nuclear Arms, the United Nations Association, Verification Technology Information Centre, the Medical Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, World Disarmament Campaign, International Peace Bureau, European Proliferation Information Centre, British Atlantic Committee, British Council of Churches, Campaign Against the Arms Trade, Centre for International Peace Building Studies, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Coalition for Peace Through Security, Committee for International Justice and Peace, Council for Arms Control, Families for Defence, Greenpeace International, British Pugwash Group. Programme for Promoting Nuclear Non Proliferation Safer World Project, Institute for European Defence and Security Studies.Regular bi-annual meetings between Foreign Office Ministers and non-governmental organisations on arms control and disarmament issues began in 1983 and are continuing.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information was given to the group of non-governmental organisations specialising in defence and disarmament issues in the meeting held on 18 October at the Foreign Office on the subjects of(a) Her Majesty's Government's policies and initiatives for the fourth review conference of the 1970 nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and (b) the forthcoming amendment conference for the 1963 partial test ban treaty.
§ Mr. WaldegraveThere was a general discussion of both subjects at the meeting which was one of a regular series held under Chatham house rules.