HC Deb 26 July 1990 vol 177 cc474-7W
Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what rules of procedure have been adopted for the fourth quinquennial review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty in August.

Mr. Waldegrave

Draft rules of procedure will be put to the non-proliferation treaty review conference for adoption when the conference convenes in August.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals Her Majesty's Government have received from Nigeria in regard to prohibitions on the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapons states.

Mr. Waldegrave

A Nigerian proposal will be discussed at the forthcoming non-proliferation treaty review conference.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what provisions will be made for the attendance at the upcoming fourth quinquennial review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty for(a) states not parties to the treaty, (b) nongovernmental organisations and (c) international organisations with an interest in security matters; and what information he possesses in regard to the stated desire to attend of parties in (a), (b) and (c), respectively.

Mr. Waldegrave

Observer status at the review conference is open to non-party states, specialised agencies and regional intergovernmental organisations. With regard to non-governmental organisations I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply of 11 June to the hon. Member for Stockton, North (Mr. Cook). Applications for observer status are made to the secretary general of the review conference.

Mr. Robertson

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he, or any officials or Ministers in his Department were present at, or participated in, the colloquium on "Non-Proliferation in a Disarming World: Prospects for the 1990s", held in Geneva on 20 and 21 June;

(2) what actions have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to implement the recommendations set out in the final document of the third nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference (NPT/CONF/III/64/1) in regard to (a) active involvement of non-proliferation treaty nuclear weapons states in nuclear disarmament negotiations, (b) resumption of negotiations in trilateral and multilateral fora towards a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty and (c) support for an international plutonium storage regime under international safeguards.

Mr. Waldegrave

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, East (Mr. Strang) on 25 July.

Mr. Robertson

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department received an invitation to attend the conference on the proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons in London on 14 and 15 July; what information he has concerning the capability of Sweden to develop nuclear weapons; and whether he possesses any information as to the capacity of Sweden to simulate the effects of nuclear weapons test explosions without the direct use of computers.

Mr. Waldegrave

I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply of 25 July to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, East (Mr. Strang). As a party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, Sweden has undertaken not to develop nuclear weapons.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proposals will be put forward by Her Majesty's Government at the fourth quinquennial review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

Mr. Waldegrave

I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply of 9 May to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, East (Mr. Strang.).

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what requests have been received by Her Majesty's Government from non-nuclear weapon states parties to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty to be involved directly in nuclear arms reductions talks, pursuant to the commitment set out in preambular paragraph 10 of the treaty.

Mr. Waldegrave

None.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what steps he has taken to encourage the Republic of South Africa to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty;

(2) what steps he has taken to encourage Zimbabwe to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty;

(3) what steps he has taken to encourage Namibia to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

Mr. Waldegrave

I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given on 28 February by my hon. Friend the then Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the hon. Member for Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (Dr. Thomas).

Mr. Wallace

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps Her Majesty's Government have taken in the five years since the third review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty to implement the recommendation of the final document of that conference (NPT/CONF/III/61/I) in the areas of nuclear disarmament.

Mr. Waldegrave

I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply of 25 July to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, East (Mr. Strang).

Mr. Wallace

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list in theOfficial Report those non-governmental organisations and their respective concerns that have communicated with his Department on nuclear non-proliferation matters since 1 June.

Mr. Waldegrave

We have frequent contacts with non-governmental organisations and other interested parties on issues related to non-proliferation.

Mr. Wallace

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, pursuant to the reply to the hon. Member for Warrington, North (Mr. Hoyle) on 4 July,Official Report, column 618, he will list all matters discussed in the current year at the European working group on non-proliferation referred to in that answer.

Mr. Waldegrave

Various matters relevant to the nuclear non-proliferation regime have been discussed in the working group on non-proliferation.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonweath Affairs what financial and logistical contribution has been committed by the United Kingdom to the fourth quinquennial review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

Mr. Waldegrave

I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply of 11 June to the hon. Member for Stockton, North (Mr. Cook).

Mr. Wallace

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representatives his Department had at the conference on chemical and nuclear weapons proliferation, organised by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament at Camden town hall on 14 and 15 July.

Mr. Waldegrave

I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply of 25 July to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, East (Mr. Strang).

Mr. Wallace

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representatives his Department had at the colloquium on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty organised by the Council for Arms Control at Chatham house, London, on 10 July; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Waldegrave

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office was represented by a senior official.

Mr. Corbyn

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will set out those conclusions of the third quinquennial review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty that have been implemented to date; and what plans there are to implement any outstanding recommendations before the fourth nuclear non-proliferation treaty review conference in August.

Mr. Waldegrave

The recommendations contained in the final document of the third review conference are wide ranging and apply to a number of states and international organisations; most have been implemented.

Dr. Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place with his counterparts in the Democratic Republic of Germany on the implications of the unification of Germany for the membership of that state in the process of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

Mr. Waldegrave

None.

Dr. Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when Ministers or officials from his Department last met the office of the Secretary General of the United Nations, or the United Nations department of disarmament affairs in regard to the forthcoming fourth quinquennial review conference of the non-proliferation treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Waldegrave

We maintain close contact with the secretariat for the NPT review conference.

Dr. Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with his French counterpart about France becoming a signatory on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

Mr. Waldegrave

I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply of 25 July to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, East (Mr. Strang).

Dr. Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how the United Kingdom representation at the forthcoming quinquennial review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty will be constituted.

Mr. Waldegrave

I refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply of 11 June to the hon. Member for Stockton, North (Mr. Cook).

Dr. Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if, during his recent meeting with his counterpart from the German Democratic Republic, he discussed the forthcoming quinquennial review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Waldegrave

No.

Dr. Thomas

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions have taken place with other European Community Foreign Ministers in preparation for the forthcoming quinquennial review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; and whether it is intended that a common position will be adopted by the European nations at that conference.

Mr. Waldegrave

A joint declaration on non-proliferation was made by EC member states at the June European Council, but, as not all member states are parties to the non-proliferation treaty, there will be no common position at the review conference.