§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response Her Majesty's Government have made to the recent request by the United States Government for a global ban on the export of anti-personnel land mines.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe request of the United States Government was tabled at the United Nations General Assembly, as a resolution calling for a moratorium on the export of anti-personnel land mines that pose grave dangers to civilian populations. The United Kingdom supported this resolution; however, in doing so, we stated our view that anti-personnel land mines directed at military targets are legitimate defensive weapons when used in compliance with the 1981 United Nations weaponry convention. If they are used in accordance with protocol II of the convention, and particularly if they are fitted with a self-destructing or self-neutralising mechanism, they do not pose grave dangers to civilian populations. We therefore think it would be wrong if the possession of self-destructing or self-neutralising anti-personnel mines were restricted to countries with the capacity to manufacture them.
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