European Arms Controls

EDM number 665 in 1995-96, proposed by Ann Clwyd on 26/03/1996.

That this House calls on Her Majesty's Government, following the Scott Report, to take urgent action to ensure a co-ordinated European approach to arms exports controls at the European Intergovernmental Conference which begins on 29th March; believes such action would be the first step towards international controls on the arms trade to ensure that no country is arming Saddam Husseins of the future; congratulates the World Development Movement, Basic and Saferworld for their proposals for a code of conduct on the arms trade which aim s to build on the existing eight European criteria, agreed in 1991 and 1992 on arms exports, which broadly state that arms should not be exported to countries in regions of tension, to countries which abuse human rights and to countries which spend excessively on the military; and recognises that a common European approach would end such contradictory policies as Germany and the United Kingdom continuing to sell arms to Indonesia while Portugal, Sweden and Italy refuse to sell arms because of human rights abuses in Indonesia.

This motion has been signed by a total of 83 MPs.