HC Deb 05 November 2003 vol 412 cc662-3W
Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his answer of 12 May 2003,Official Report, column 85W, to the hon. Member for Blaenau Gwent (Llew Smith), on nuclear non-proliferation, what further actions his Department will pursue to implement the disarmament measures identified at the end of the 2000 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference; and if he will make a statement. [135824]

Mr. Straw

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the cornerstone of the nuclear nonproliferation regime. The United Kingdom fully supports the Final]Document of the 2000 NPT Review Conference and the 13 practical steps towards disarmament that it identified. We intend to continue our close co-operation with other NPT members to strengthen the effectiveness of measures against nuclear proliferation.

To that end, we will participate actively in the NPT review process, including the next Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) in April and May 2004 and the subsequent Review Conference in 2005. We will continue to provide reports at those meetings on our progress on all actions agreed in the 2000 Final Document. The UK is currently working on research into the verification of nuclear disarmament, and we will be presenting a second interim report on our studies at the next PrepCom. We intend to issue a consolidated report on this research at the 2005 Review Conference. This will contribute significantly towards one of the 13 practical steps towards disarmament identified in the Final Document of the 2000 Review Conference.

Mr. Menzies Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations his Department has made since 11 September 2001 to the Israeli Government to persuade it(a) to sign and ratify the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, (b) to ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention and (c) to sign and ratify the Biological Weapons Convention. [135825]

Mr. Straw

We have a regular dialogue with Israel on the full range of counter-proliferation issues as an integral part of our diplomatic relationship. This dialogue includes an annual senior official-level meeting specifically on the subject. The last such meeting took place in March this year, with the previous one having taken place in March 2002.