Visit to Anne Campbell MP
Arms Control Legislation
Friday 2nd November 2001
Sunil Amrith & Caroline Moreiras
Sustainable Development
Mrs Campbell felt that the sustainable development clause is good in theory but difficult to apply practically. It is difficult to come up with criteria as, for example, it is arbitrary whether arms are part of or exceed a particular country's defence needs, and therefore difficult to put into primary legislation. She thought it was very difficult to ignore guidelines, though, so the main disadvantage of sustainable development being secondary legislation would be that it is easier to remove from the Statute books than a clause in primary legislation. She also felt that sustainable development is addressed in other laws/other ways. For example, Highly Indebted Poor Countries not spending enough money on essential services have debt relief suspended (this money being set aside for future use within the HIPC).
End Use Controls
Anne Campbell again agreed with the principle, but this is difficult to put into practice aswell, as it involves legislating things that happen in other countries. This is difficult to legislate beyond stopping supplies when a country is found to be misusing arms.
Actions
As stated on report form, Anne Campbell is a member of the government and cannot table or support amendments. Also, as she is Parliamentary Private Secretary to Patricia Hewitt and has been in many meetings on this subject, she does not feel able to make representation on this subject. However, she has written on behalf of constituents on this subject in the past and has said she will send us
To the Events Archive page
Hosted at
Francis's page