MOD file DEFE 24/2032/1

2223 Written [ 14 DECEMBER 1977] Answers 2224
rr~1~~ to. leru:n ~ow to av:~the dangers welcome the increased protection for the
o.. Wifig tt wtthm a ~~ or. smoke- sick and wounded and for medical aircraft·
filled building. Th¢' considerations still the improved arrangements for infor~
hold good. Therrare, however, specialist mation on persons reported missing; the
RN and ·firemen, equipped with protection of the civilian popu tion
breathing paratus and fully traiJ.?.ed to against direct attack, and the ne pro-
use it, o have been deployed m the visions on implementation and e force-
majo onurbations. ment both of the protocol and the eneva
Conventions. Protocol II prov· es the
FO's: FRENCH RADIO BROADCAST minimum standards of condu to be
observed by both sides in civil wars, a
field previously covered only l:fy a single
Article in each of the four 1r49 Geneva
Conventions. We welcome,. the funda
mental guarantees provided bf Protocol II,
in relation to e.g. accused fclnd detained
persons, protection of the ,.Wounded and
sick and medical personnel-'and protection
of the civilian population./
The EARL of CLANCARTY asked
Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will reconsider their
decision, implicit in their answers to two
recent Questions for Written Answer
(cols. 1347 and 1453), not to draw the
attention of the Ministry of Defence and
the Home Office to the interview on
France-Inter radio in February 1974
' of the then French Minister of Defence
I
I M. Robert Galley about unidentified
flying objects by M. Jean-Claude
Bourret which is transcribed in his
book The Crack in the Universe.
Lord WINTERBOTTOM: The Mini-
stry of Defence are endeavouring to obtain
\
an official transcript of the interview said
. to have taken place on France-Inter radio
in February 1974.
GENEVA CONVENTIONS:
ADDITIONAL PROTOCOLS
Lord BROCKWAY asked Her Majesty's
Government:
Whether the Governme~ have yet
decided whether to sign},!!e two addi-
tional protocols to the· Geneva Con-
ventions of 1949 whi.C'h were adopted
at the Humanitariati Law Conference
in June of this year/and if he will make
a Statement. //
Lord GORONWY-ROBERTS: The
two protocols \}'ere opened for signature
on 12th December 1977. Protocol I
relates to the' protection of victims of
internationa~ armed conflicts and Proto-
col II to thl protection of victims of non-
internatiorlal armed conflicts. Signature
of both Vrotocols on behalf of the United
King~o· took place on 12th December.
The Government consider that, overall,
the t protocols mark a valuable advance
in humanitarian law applicable in armed
conflicts. In Protocol I we particularly
The United Kingdonf's signature of
the protocols was accouwanied by formal
declarations on various/ points, of which
copies have been plac,M in the Library
of the House. Almost' without exception,
these reflect statem~hts made by the
United Kingdom at tne Conference which
are already part /of the negotiating
history. The most/ significant of them
concern the scope 'of application of the
protocols. First, _as with several recent
international conVentions, the Govern-
ment have con~dered it necessary to
reserve the right ftot to apply the protocols
in relation to Southern Rhodesia unless
and until they are in a position to ensure
that the obligjitions of the protocols in
respect of tl~at territory can be fully
implemented.;' Secondly, we have con-
firmed the utiderstanding upon which we
took part in,the negotiations, that the new
rules introquced by Protocol I were not
intended t~·have any effect on and did not
regulate or prohibit the use of nuclear
weapons. f
'
Thirdly the provisions of Protocol I,
including that on prisoner of war status
for irr6gular fighters, apply only to
international armed conflict, which are
now so defined by the protocol as to
include certain self-determination conflicts.
The f Government have · considered it
desirable in this connection to place
formally on record by means of an
inttrpretative declaration their under-
stahding of the meaning of the term
" Armed conflict ", which implies a high
lt}\rel of intensity of military operations,
and their understanding of the require-
ments to be fulfilled by any national