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Arms Export Controls

I am grateful to the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee for his comments. Concern has been expressed—particularly by the non-governmental organisations—about the fact that decisions at the UN diplomatic conference in 2012 are to be taken on the basis of consensus. The concerns arise from the fact that the word consensus could be interpreted to mean the lowest common denominator—a unanimous decision that is not very effective. For example, is it an arms trade treaty that will be acceptable to Zimbabwe? If that were the case, that would not be a particularly effective treaty. Does the Minister share the concern of the NGOs on the scope of the ATT, and the risk that the term consensus might be interpreted in that particular way? Our comments on arms exports to Israel and Sri Lanka were the part of the report that attracted the most media coverage. I am conscious that other colleagues wish to speak in the debate, and I know that they will want to touch on those matters. Suffice it to say that the basis of our concerns was that in certain circumstances, UK weapons might be exported to countries that use them to the great detriment of the civilian population. This is a general issue, but Israel and Sri Lanka are two recent examples. Making a decision about whether to grant an arms export licence involves guessing about the future. In fairness, the process is more rigorous than the word "guess" suggests, but it involves making an estimate about the end use of the arms which, as I have said, is the only thing that matters. We are becoming increasingly concerned with events such as those in Gaza, Sri Lanka and elsewhere. We must ask whether we are being sufficiently robust and doing everything possible to ensure that licences are not granted if there is a significant risk that civilians might be affected—in the two cases I mentioned, large numbers of civilians were involved. In conclusion, the Government have made progress over the years and we have acknowledged that. Nevertheless, some real concerns remain, and I look forward to the Minister's response to the specific questions that I have raised. If he feels that he will not have time to answer any of those questions this afternoon, we would be happy to receive his replies in writing.