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Iran:
[ 19 MAY 1980 1
3. Consequently, they decided immediately to apply the measures provided for in the Security Council draft resolution of 10th January 1980, according to jointly agreed conditions and procedures. They agreed, in particular, that all contracts concluded after 4th November 1979 will be affected by these measures. They will continue to consult closely pursuant to Art. 224 of the Treaty of Rome.
4. The sole purpose of these measures is to hasten the release of the hostages. At the same time, the Ministers reaffirmed their intention to respect the independence of Iran and the right of the Iranian people to determine their own future.
5. The Ministers expressed great satisfaction at the decision of the UN Secretary-General to entrust to Mr. Adib Daoudi, member of the UN Commission of Inquiry, the task of entering into contact with the Iranian Government in order to enable the Commission to resume its work and to secure the resolution of the crisis. They fully support the Secretary-General and will remain in constant touch with him in order to establish whether the progress of the UN mission is such as to enable them rapidly to suspend the measures taken in respect of Iran.
My
3.5 p.m.
Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS: Lords, the House will be grateful to the Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary for coming to the House to make that Statement. The House will equally share with him the deep regret that no decisive progress leading to the release of the hostages was reported at the meetings over the weekend, but we note with cautious satisfaction what the noble Lord said about there being some grounds for encouragement, and if the Foreign Secretary feels able to expand a little on that phrase, I am sure that we should all be very grateful.
With regard to the timing of sanctions, the Statement said that the meeting: "decided to proceed without delay with economic sanctions set out in the Security Council draft resolution of 10th January ".
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very firmly to obviate the possibility of even sterner measures?
Is the Foreign Secretary-in whom we have very great confidence in regard to this matter, and other very delicate matters convinced that there will be sufficient time for him and others to make every use of, for instance, the latest initiative in Tehran by Dr. Waldheim, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, that is in cause now?
With regard to the question of co- ordinating action, it is not very clear from the Statement whether this is co- ordination among the Nine, or among the Nine plus Japan, Australia, New Zealand and one or two other countries; or is it co-ordination among a wider range of countries?-the wider, the better, of course. The question that follows from that is: Will there be proper machinery for co-ordination? the phrase used in the Statement is:
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to act simultaneously with our partners on the basis of legal instruments nationally conceived, I imagine— "co-ordinated to achieve parallel effect ". If possible we should like to be assured that there will be proper machinery for central co-ordination of the application of whatever sanctions are found to be necessary. In this way we shall perhaps learn from the admitted inadequacy of the machinery of monitoring and of applica- tion during the Rhodesian sanctions. If the sanctions prove to be necessary, we must not move towards them nationally with a loose kind of consultation deemed to achieve co-ordination. There should be proper machinery for this purpose.
As to the question of existing contracts, it seems that the action is to be rather more retrospective than was our impression May I pointedly put to him the following when we debated the Bill, but I have only question? When in fact will the sanctions now heard the Statement and looked at it, take effect? When will they start? and I should like to study that aspect of it I am not pressing the noble Lord to see more closely, as no doubt will my right that they start precipitately. I think that honourable friends in another place. I explained our attitude to sanctions Suffice it to say—and I know that in every sufficiently clearly, and I hope respon- part of the House there is sympathy for sibly, in our debate last week. We should this view that whatever is done will, we like to know whether the phrase "without are sure, take into account the undoubted delay" still means that there will be and substantial anxieties of employers adequate time for every possible diplo- and trade unions in various industries matic approach and pressure to be made and firms in different parts of the country. to Tehran in order to obviate the use of If there is a constructive delay before the sanctions, if at all possible, and certainly | application of sanctions, taken up by
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