§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to ensure that foreign military forces stationed in the United Kingdom do not store land mines in the United Kingdom. [98594]
§ Mr. SpellarThe UK is fully committed to the Ottawa Convention which prohibits the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel mines (APMs). The last of the UK's operational stocks of APMs were destroyed on 19 October 1999—three years ahead of the timeframe laid down in the Convention. Allies who have forces stationed in the UK are well aware of the Ottawa Convention's obligations which include the prohibition of 559W the stockpiling of APMs on UK territory. The only APMs stored in the UK are the small amount (some 4,000) that the UK's armed forces hold for training and testing in de-mining techniques, as permitted under Article 3 of the Ottawa Convention.