CSCE
UNIT.
631
Written Answers
26/5 Vol153
25 MAY 1989
Mr. Alan Clark: The United Kingdom spoke as the President of the Council at the meeting in Punta del Este in 1986, Greece at the meeting in Montreal in 1988. The European Commission negotiated on behalf of the Community and its member states.
SAJD
EAD
Endangered Species
HHD CAJD
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many shipments and what weight of ivory have been seized by the Hong Kong authorities to date in the current year; and how many shipments and what weight of ivory have been imported from CITES approved sources in the same period.
Mr. Eggar: The Hong Kong Government have seized 15 consignments of illegal ivory so far this year, weighing a total of 0.5 tonnes. In the same period, 249 shipments of ivory, total weight 55·5 tonnes, have been imported from CITES approved sources.
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consideration has been given to the establishment of a Pan-African animal task force to monitor and protect endangered species; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Eggar: We are working to protect endangered species by strengthening the rules of organisations in this field. On 23 May we announced our support for a change in the rules of the convention on international trade in endangered species which would have the effect of banning trade in new ivory. We have not heard so far of a proposal for a Pan-African animal task force, but we are willing to consider new ideas.
Mr. Tony Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what information he has regarding the involvement of Renamo forces in the poaching of elephants in Mozambique; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what information he has regarding the involvement of UNITA forces in the poaching of elephants in Angola; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what representation he has made to the South African Government regarding their acceptance of ivory from UNITA forces in Angola in exchange for military and other assistance; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker: There is extensive poaching of elephants for their ivory in Angola and Mozambique, as in other parts of Africa. We have no conclusive proof of the involvement of UNITA or Renamo in poaching. We utterly condemn poaching, whoever perpetrates it.
The United Kingdom will be calling for concerted European support for a total ban of trade in new ivory at the next Council meeting of Environment Ministers on 8 June in Luxembourg.
pa pi
(E31/5
Written Answers
632
Mr. Waldegrave: The draft rules of procedure for the 1990 non-proliferation treaty review conference adopted at the 1st preparatory committee (held in New York from 1-5 May) will allow representatives of non-governmental organisations to attend plenary sessions and main committees of the review conference, and to receive the documents of the conference. However, it is not our policy to subsidise their attendance.
Disarmament Initiatives
Mr. Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what unilateral disarmament initiatives in nuclear, conventional, or chemical weapons, and in troop deployments have been made by the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Treaty Organisation since May 1979; and what response the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has made to these initiatives.
Mr. Waldegrave: The Soviet Union and its Warsaw pact allies have, since 7 December 1988, announced unilateral conventional force reductions which, if implemented, would reduce their conventional superiority over NATO in tanks and artillery from 3:1 to 2.4:1 and in aircraft from 2-1:1 to 18:1. Details are set out on page 226 of the first report of 1989 of the Foreign Affairs Committee on Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. These reductions do not call for any unilateral NATO response: a sizeable conventional imbalance would remain after their implementation. But NATO has made proposals at the conventional arms control talks in Vienna for more far-reaching reductions leading to an outcome of parity between the two sides in key items of equipment.
The Soviet Union has stated that its conventional reductions in Europe will involve the withdrawal of 24 out of its 1,608 short-range nuclear-capable missile launchers. On 11 May it also announced the withdrawal from the countries of Eastern Europe to the Soviet Union (but not the elimination) of 500 Soviet theatre nuclear warheads. NATO has 88 short-range nuclear missile launchers. It has reduced its stockpile of nuclear warheads in Europe from 7,000 in 1979 to 4,600 now. The Soviet Union announced a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing on 29 July 1985. This ended on 26 February 1987, when a Soviet nuclear device was exploded.
The Soviet Union has claimed that it ceased chemical weapons production in 1987 but we doubt this. The Soviet Union has stated that it intends to begin destruction of its existing chemical weapon stocks in 1989, but has yet to give details of the quantities and time scale.
Council of Ministers
Mr. Sillars: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the number of
sov. Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty SEC Council of Ministers meetings since 1979, and indicate at
ACDD
Mr. Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreigh and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to give consideration to applications from non-governmental organisations with a central interest in nuclear prolifera- tion, for funds to support their attendance at the 1990 fourth review conference of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.
which the Scottish Office was present in a Civil Service capacity in support of a United Kingdom Minister.
Mrs. Chalker: There were 652 meetings of the Council
of Ministers from 1980 until the end of 1988.
The United Kingdom delegation to all meetings of the Council of Ministers represents the Government of the United Kingdom as a whole.