HC Deb 18 June 1991 vol 193 cc156-7W
Mr. O'Neill

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his representative at the United Nations Military Staff Committee has raised the question of(a) the monitoring of the transfer of conventional arms or (b) the possible restriction on the export of military equipment to the middle east by France, the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United States of America and China in that committee.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

No.

Mr. O'Neill

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will list the dates of all meetings of the United Nations Military Staff Committee in the last 10 years and the work that has been undertaken by this committee.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

The United Nations Military Staff Committee meets formally every fortnight. There have been 272 such meetings since the beginning of 1981, the latest taking place on 14 June 1991. The formal meetings of the UNMSC have been a useful forum for an exchange of views between the military representatives of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. During the Gulf crisis, ad hoc meetings of the members of the UNMSC proved valuable for sharing information on naval deployments.