§ Mr. BurdenTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what are his criteria for proscribing trade on the basis of a country's human rights record; and if he will make a statement on their application to Indonesia.
§ Mr. Ian TaylorThe Government subscribe to the common criteria for arms transfers agreed with EU partners at Luxembourg in 1991 and at Lisbon in 1992, and the principles governing arms transfers agreed by the forum for security co-operation of the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe in November 1993. These include consideration of human rights.
No prohibition on trade has been introduced in respect of Indonesia. Export licences are required for some goods and applications are considered on a case by case basis taking into account the above criteria as appropriate.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement about recent exports of British armaments to Indonesia.
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§ Mr. Ian TaylorIt is not normal practice to divulge details of export licences, unless the requirements of confidentiality are outweighed by public interest considerations.
In this case, such considerations justify disclosing that to date in 1994 we have issued 26 export licences for goods in schedule 1, group 1 part III of the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1994—the military list. The total value of these goods licensed for export is £14.69 million. Licences are valid for two years.
§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will ensure that the human rights record of the Indonesian Government are taken into account when deciding whether to grant an export licence for the export of tanks to Indonesia; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Ian TaylorThe human rights record of a recipient country is one of a number of factors taken into account during the consideration of an application for an export licence for military and paramilitary equipment.