To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the extent to which the Namibian independence constitution abides by the principles formulated by the western Governments on 12 July 1982; and if he will make a statement.

We have only just received a copy of the constitution as passed by the Namibian constituent assembly and are still studying it. The United Nations Secretary-General reported to the Security Council on 16 March that he was satisfied that the constitution complied with the constitutional principles.