Clause 7 - Control powers: supplementary
Export Control Bill
4:30 pm
Dr Vincent Cable (Twickenham, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendment No. 68, in line 6, at end insert—
`( ) for the revocation of any licence granted under the control powers in subsection (1)(a) for the export of goods, the transfer of technology, the provision of technical assistance or the trade in controlled goods if the exportation, transfer, provision or trade subsequently results in any of the consequences referred to in the Table in paragraph 4 of the Schedule or if there is a failure on the part of any of the co-parties to honour their contractual obligations;'.
The amendment refers to the revocation of licences and will clarify and strengthen the Government's powers in that respect. The problem of revoking licences arises because of changing circumstances. There are several classic cases, the most obvious being Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe. Some years ago, it was considered to be a reputable member of the Commonwealth and we supplied it with Hawk aircraft. Since then, the Mugabe regime has descended steadily into anarchy and abuse of human rights. It has been considered, rightly, that we should stop the supply of spares for those Hawk aircraft, but there have been contractual difficulties in revoking the licences, or doing so speedily.
A similar problem arose with Indonesia, which was once considered to be a reputable receiver of Hawk aircraft. When it became involved in East Timor, the circumstances changed and the issue arose of how quickly the terms of the licences could be changed. Another example with which I understand the Government are having legal trouble concerns the western Sahara. Arms contracts with Morocco predated the use of those weapons in the western Saharan conflict and pressure arose to change the contracts.
The purpose of the amendment is to write the power of revocation into the Bill and thereby make it clear that licences may be revoked by the Government without a messy, prolonged and perhaps unsatisfactory legal process. The amendment is within the spirit of the Bill and I hope that the Government will have no difficulty in accepting it.