Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, the House is indebted, not for the first time, to the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries of Pentregarth, for calling attention to this tragic situation. This is not the first occasion on which we have discussed the appalling events in West Papua. Sadly, our debates have failed to lead to any improvement for the people of West Papua, or, apparently, to impress on our...
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, does my noble friend recollect that there have been a number of debates in your Lordships' House exploring whether it would be possible to search CIA-operated aircraft being serviced at United Kingdom airports? Given the whole history of this matter and what has now emerged, has the time not come to re-examine that question, which would, after all, be only a minor inconvenience for...
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, the Minister said that a great deal of work will be required on the nine conditions. Does she agree that it is more important that it should be done properly than it should be done quickly?
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, I beg to introduce a Bill to make provision for actions for damages for torture; and for connected purposes. I beg to move that this Bill be now read a first time. Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Bill read a first time, and ordered to be printed.
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, will my noble friend confirm that in addition to the ruling of the European Court of First Instance and the judgment of POAC, after careful consideration of all the evidence, some years ago the American authorities in Iraq conducted a careful investigation into the allegation and concluded that it was totally without substance? Why do the Government cling so obstinately to a...
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, there is no legal or procedural impediment to raising the question either at the General Assembly or in the Security Council under Article 35 of the charter. Is it the Government's position that genocide should continue while the international community looks on? If so, what has become of the ethical foreign policy?
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords—
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, does my noble friend agree that the past conduct of the CIA supports a reasonable suspicion that an aircraft under its control may be being used for unlawful rendition? That being so, is there a problem about requiring that any aircraft seeking permission at least to land at a United Kingdom airport should disclose in advance its estimated time of arrival, and is there then any...
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, does the noble Lord agree that atrocities have been committed on both sides, by government forces as well as by Tamils, and that the real distinction is between the extremists on both sides, who are seeking to escalate the violence, and the moderates on both sides, who are looking for negotiated accommodation? Does he also agree that, in those circumstances, to label one side only...
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for giving way, but if the Government accept that the number of civilian casualties must be proportionate, how can we know, with weapons of this kind, how many civilian casualties there will be in a particular case?
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, the House will be indebted to the noble Lord, Lord Elton, for this opportunity to continue the debate that took place on the Second Reading of the Bill introduced by my noble friend Lord Dubs on 15 December, and in particular to indicate our support for what I hope my noble friend on the Front Bench will tell us will be the Government's message to the world at Lima. I congratulate...
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, does my noble friend consider that the plans to renew Trident are a step toward nuclear disarmament?
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, does my noble friend recollect that, a few years ago, a number of leading carpet retailers imposed an unofficial ban on the import of carpets from certain states in India where it was known that they were produced by child slave labour? Have the Government considered the possibility of an official ban, possibly with our European partners, on specified products from particular areas...
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, I beg to introduce a Bill to make provision for actions for damages for torture; and for connected purposes. I beg to move that this Bill be now read a first time. Moved accordingly, and, on Question, Bill read a first time, and ordered to be printed.
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, can my noble friend confirm that the doctrine of state immunity arose from the concept of state sovereignty and that its purpose was to facilitate diplomacy and conflict resolution and so to protect people? Does she accept that it ought not to be used to prevent people from being protected? Does she agree with Kofi Annan that no legal principle, not even sovereignty, should be...
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, is my noble friend suggesting that the distinction between the nuclear-weapons powers and the non-nuclear states was intended at the beginning to last into eternity and that the non-nuclear states are now content with that situation?
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, I apologise for interrupting my noble friend. I recognise our wonderful record and, in consequence, the respect that we have built up internationally. I was suggesting that it would be a great pity to throw that away at this stage.
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, I begin by declaring an interest. I am privileged to be the president of the World Disarmament Campaign; and I should tell my noble friends Lord Foulkes and Lord O'Neill that there are an awful lot of very worried people out there, even if they do not always succeed in making their voices heard. We may begin with a premise on which we can all agree: we want to make this country as...
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, as I understand it, that question arose then because it appeared that compliance with Article VI was in some doubt in a number of places. The greatest danger would have been if the treaty had disappeared altogether, before Article VI had been complied with. It was still, as I understand it, intended to fill a gap, however long that continued. I cannot believe that the non-nuclear...
Lord Archer of Sandwell: My Lords, my noble friend said that there is no legal ruling on the matter. Has he read the opinion of the International Court of Justice, which is quite substantial?