§ Mr. David AtkinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the outcome of the conference on security and co-operation in Europe Council meeting in Stockholm of 15 and 16 December.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydMy right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, represented the United Kingdom at the Council Meeting of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe which took place on 14 and 15 December in Stockholm.
The Stockholm meeting marked a further stage in the transition of the CSCE from an organisation primarily involved with setting standards of behaviour in the fields of human rights and international security to one whose task is also to prevent and if necessary end conflicts.
The Council endorsed the work of the international conference on former Yugoslavia. It agreed a detailed policy intended to help prevent the spread of the fighting into other parts of the former Yugoslavia and to tighten sanctions. The CSCE missions in Kosovo, Sandjak and Vojvodina will be reinforced.
The Council took steps to promote long-term solutions to the conflict in Moldova. The CSCE will continue to press for agreements to be concluded on the early and complete withdrawal of foreign troops from the territories of the Baltic states and will also dispatch a mission to Estonia to address human rights issues between the different communities in Estonia.