§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the occasions since 1975 when the vote cast by the United Kingdom has been diametrically opposed to that of the United States in the UN Security Council; and what percentage of votes this represents. [147399]
§ Mr. RammellThe UK has made a positive vote in the Security Council when the US has voted negatively on the following 28 occasions since 1975:
- 11 August 1975: Application for membership for Republic of South Vietnam
970W - 11 August 1975: Application for membership for Democratic Republic of Vietnam
- 30 Sept 1975: Application for membership for Republic of South Vietnam
- 30 Sept 1975: Application for membership for Democratic Republic of Vietnam
- 8 Dec 1975: Situation in the Middle East
- 25 March 1976: Situation in occupied Arab territories
- 23 June 1976: Application for membership for Angola
- 15 Nov 1976: Application for membership for Socialist Republic of Vietnam
- 2 April 1982: Situation in occupied Arab territories
- 20 April 1982: Situation in occupied Arab territories
- 8 June 1982: Israeli invasion of Lebanon
- 26 June 1982: Israeli invasion of Lebanon
- 2 August 1983: Situation in occupied Arab territories
- 6 Sept 1984: Israeli occupation of Lebanon
- 30 Jan1986: Provocative acts in relation to Al Aqsa Mosque
- 1 Feb 1988: Situation in the occupied territories
- 15 April 1988: Situation in the occupied territories
- 10 May 1988: Israeli invasion of Southern Lebanon
- 14 Dec 1988: Israeli raid on Lebanon
- 17 Feb 1989: Situation in the occupied Arab territories
- 9 June 1989: Situation in the occupied Arab territories
- 7 Nov 1989: Situation in the occupied Arab territories
- 31 May 1990: Situation in the occupied Arab territories
- 17 May 1995: Situation in the occupied Arab territories
- 7 March 1997: Situation in the occupied Arab territories
- 21 March 1997: Situation in the occupied Arab territories
- 30 June 2002: Situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 20 Dec 2002: Situation in the Middle East
There have been no occasions since 1975 when the US has voted positively on a resolution which the UK has voted against. The 28 votes listed above represent around 2.3 per cent. of the 1,238 votes on substantive resolutions which have either been adopted or vetoed since 1975. In the same period, there were 23 occasions in which the UK voted positively and the US abstained, and 21 occasions when the UK abstained and the US voted against. There have been no occasions since 1975 when the UK abstained and the US voted positively, or the UK voted against and the US abstained. Exact figures for the total number of votes (including those, for example, on procedural issues) which have taken place in the Security Council are not readily available.