Ratification Of Un Convention On Physical Protection Of Nuclear Material

EDM number 2155 in 2008-09, proposed by Dai Davies on 26/10/2009.
Categorised under the topic of Nuclear power.

That this House notes the Government's intention, as set out in the written Answer to the hon. Member for Aylesbury of 21 October 2009, Official Report, column 1516W, to ratify the UN Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material; believes that the sections in the Convention on the protection of confidentiality of information could exclude the notification of emergency authorities, including local authorities, of prior notification of nuclear material being transported through their area of responsibility; further believes that the Government has not justified the provisions allowing member states to withdraw nuclear materials from the provisions of the Convention if it `reasonably decides' to do so; and therefore calls on the Government to delay the timetable of ratification beyond the 21 sitting days allowed for under the Ponsonby Rule provisions, until the relevant select committees of the House, including Foreign Affairs and Energy and Climate Change, and appropriate committees of the House of Lords, have scrutinised the text with evidence from witnesses from the Government, and have been convinced of the merits of the Convention as currently drafted.

This motion has been signed by a total of 19 MPs.