asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will call in the United Nations for an international register of arms sales.

No. As I told my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Bright-side (Miss Maynard) on 11th October, there is no evidence that a proposal for an international register of arms sales would receive a more favourable response than earlier initiatives in 1965 and 1968. However, the United Nations General Assembly has before it a draft resolution A/C1/31/L20 which seeks the views of States on the international transfer of conventional arms and requests the United Nations Secretary-General to make a factual study of such transfers. As drafted, the United Kingdom can support this resolution.