§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the statements in paragraph 16 of their Observations on the House of Commons Defence Committee Report on the Future of NATO and the Washington Summit (which quoted from paragraph 31 of NATO's New Strategic Concept) indicate that NATO accepts that the "primordial responsibility for peace keeping and international security" lies with the United Nations Security Council, as declared in the Toulouse Declaration from the Franco-German Summit held on 29 May. [HL3467]
§ Lord GilbertParagraph 15 of the Strategic Concept, agreed by Allied Heads of State and Government at the Washington Summit, 23–25 April 1999, states: "The United Nations Security Council has the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and, as such, plays a crucial role in contributing to security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area". Paragraph 31 of the Concept reaffirms the willingness expressed by all Allies at the NATO Summit in Brussels in 1994 to participate, on a case-by-case basis and in accordance with NATO's own procedures, in peacekeeping and other operations under the authority of the UN Security Council or the responsibility of the OSCE.