§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will publish the record of the vote at the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December 1997 on the resolution on multilateral disarmament, indicating how the United Kingdom voted, and the reasons for its vote. [23838]
§ Mr. Tony LloydThe United Nations General Assembly did not adopt a resolution on "multilateral disarmament" as such on 9 December 1997. The United Kingdom did, however, support resolutions tabled by Japan on the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons, tabled by the USA and Russia on bilateral arms negotiations, and resolutions on Nuclear Weapon Free Zones in Central and South Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.
The United Kingdom also supported resolutions on anti-personnel land mines, small arms, the consolidation of peace through practical disarmament measures, conventional arms control at regional and sub-regional level, and regional confidence-building measures. For the reasons given in my reply to the my hon. Friend the Member for Greenock and Inverclyde (Mr. Godman) on 24 November 1997, Official Report, column 398, the United Kingdom voted against a Malaysian resolution on the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons.