SECRETARY OF STATE'S MEETING WITH HIGH COMMISSIONERS,
21 NOVEMBER 1984
SECURITY OF SMALL STATES
ESSENTIAL FACTS
1. At their meeting in New Delhi in November 1983 Commonwealth
Heads of Government requested the Secretary-General to undertake a
study into the Special Needs of Small States, including their national security. HMG strongly supports and has already submitted
a contribution to this study which will be completed in 1985 in time
for the next CHOGM.
2.
The House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC) had
intended to carry out their own study of the Security of Small
States, but this has been postponed indefinitely. On 19 July the
FAC published an FCO memorandum (similar to the paper which has been
contributed to the Commonwealth Secretariat Study) outlining current
Government thinking on this issue.
3. The British Government believe that the key objective of Commonwealth and Western countries should be to encourage preventive measures. These include the maintenance of a diplomatic presence;
increased technical assistance (eg, provision of skilled manpower or
training of security forces); regional cooperation and the pursuit of active information and cultural polices. A joint FCO/MOD paper on the threat and potential remedies is still under consideration.
4. The members of the Commonwealth Study Group appointed by
Mr Ramphal first assembled in London in July. The Group has now
embarked on a series of regional colloquia, the first was held in
New Zealand in August.
Commonwealth Coordination Department
15 November 1984