SOUTH PACIFIC NUCLEAR FREE ZONE TREATY

HL Deb 23 July 1991 vol 531 c47WA

Lord Jenkins of Putney

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Which countries have signed the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty of 1986 and what is Her Majesty's Government's position on the matter.

Lord Cavendish of Furness

Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Western Samoa have signed and ratified the treaty. It is open to South Pacific forum members only, although it also has three protocols: the first for states with territories in the region; the second and third for nuclear weapons states. We decided not to become party to the protocols in 1987, when a full statement of our policy was made in another place (Hansard, 20th March 1987, col. 639). That remains our position.