To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they consider that rules introduced by Additional
Protocol 1 to the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 apply only to conventional weapons,
without prejudice to any other rules of international law applicable to other types
of weapons, and in particular do not regulate or prohibit the use of nuclear weapons.
<p>The position of the United Kingdom remains that the rules introduced by the Protocol
apply exclusively to conventional weapons without prejudice to any other rules of
international law applicable to other types of weapons. In particular, the rules so
introduced do not have any effect on and do not regulate or prohibit the use of nuclear
weapons.</p>
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the short and long-term
consequences for the UK and Europe of any collapse of the 1987 US–Russian Intermediate-Range
Nuclear Forces Treaty; and what consultation they have had with other European governments
to seek to avert such an eventuality and to mitigate its implications.
<p>The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty has made a valuable contribution
to Euro-Atlantic security for over 30 years. The Treaty eliminates Russian and US
ground-launched missiles with ranges from 500 km to 5,500 km. Neither the US nor Russia
has said that they wish to denounce the Treaty, or what they would do if it were no
longer in force. We welcome efforts by the US and other NATO Allies to preserve the
Treaty.</p><p>We have discussed the Treaty with our NATO Allies on many occasions
at both Ministerial and official level. The Treaty remains important for security
in Europe. NATO has urged Russia to resolve serious concerns about its compliance
with the Treaty. NATO remains the world's largest military alliance, and we remain
completely confident in its ability to deter and defend against, all threats.</p>
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their response to Leading by Example: Reforming
UK Nuclear Declaratory Policy, the briefing by the British American Security Information
Council, and, in particular, its recommendation that the UK should maintain its lead
role in multilateral disarmament by (1) explicitly declaring that UK nuclear weapons
are only there to deter nuclear use or blackmail when the survival of the UK is in
question, (2) strengthening the UK's negative security assurances to non-nuclear states,
(3) committing never to use nuclear weapons first, and (4) clarifying that the UK's
nuclear weapons are weapons of last resort, and what is meant by that.
<p>The UK's independent nuclear deterrent remains essential for our security. But
we are committed to maintaining the minimum amount of destructive power needed to
deter any aggressor. We also have a strong track record on nuclear disarmament, reducing
our nuclear forces by over half since the Cold War peak in the late 1970s. We intend
to maintain a leading role in multilateral disarmament efforts; unilateral disarmament
would undermine our security and not make the world a safer place. We regret that
Russia is making a number of destabilising nuclear and missile investments and undermining
existing arms control Treaties, and DPRK is developing its illegal nuclear programme
in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions; this makes progress more difficult.
We are fully committed to ensuring that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons (NPT) remains the cornerstone of international efforts to achieve our long
term goal of a world without nuclear weapons.</p><p>Our policy remains as set out
in the 2015 Strategic Defence & Security Review. This said, "We would use
our nuclear weapons only in extreme circumstances of self-defence, including the defence
of our NATO Allies. While our resolve and capability to do so if necessary is beyond
doubt, we will remain deliberately ambiguous about precisely when, how and at what
scale we would contemplate their use, in order not to simplify the calculations of
any potential aggressor". The Review also said that "The UK will not use
or threaten to use, nuclear weapons against any Non-Nuclear Weapons State Party to
the Treaty of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). This assurance does
not apply to any state in material breach of those non-proliferation obligations."
We will continue to keep our nuclear posture under review in the light of the international
security environment and the actions of potential adversaries.</p>
