HL Deb 21 January 1997 vol 577 cc51-2WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

When they propose to ratify Protocols 1 and 2 to the Geneva conventions, and what are the reasons for the delay, since the Royal Assent was given to the Geneva Conventions (Amendment) Act on 14th July 1995.

Baroness Chalker of Wallasey

We have made clear our intention to ratify the additional protocols. The domestic legislation is now in place. Ratification has been deferred in order to resolve some outstanding issues in the context of the requests to the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on the legality of nuclear weapons. Our objective remains to ratify the Additional Protocols as soon as we can.