Plenary, 16 Jan 2003

Meeting date: Thursday, January 16, 2003

Official Report 739KB pdf

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International Situation

Before we come to decision time, I will ask Tavish Scott and Tommy Sheridan to move their respective manuscript amendments, which have been circulated in the revised business bulletin.

Before doing so, I repeat what I said earlier and what the Deputy Presiding Officer said at the time that the original points of order were made. I ask members to understand that the Presiding Officer will not normally accept manuscript amendments simply because an amendment might be pre-empted. It is up to members who are lodging amendments to discuss possible pre-emption with the clerks—such discussions happen all the time in the chamber office—and to devise other methods if they want to avoid that.

On this occasion, the Presiding Officers have agreed that it is important that members be able to record their individual views. That is why we have accepted this procedure.

I move amendment S1M-3760.3.3, to leave out from "notes" to end and insert:

"recognises the reserved nature of issues relating to the current international situation and the public concerns that exist and therefore agrees to support UN Security Resolution 1441 as unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council; agrees that the Government of Iraq must fully comply with all the provisions of the resolution; agrees that, if it fails to do so, the UN Security Council should meet in order to consider the situation and the need for full compliance; believes that any decision that Iraq is in "material breach" of Resolution 1441 is for the UN Security Council as a whole to determine and that no military action to enforce Resolution 1441 should be taken against Iraq without a mandate from the UN Security Council, and further believes that no British forces should be committed to any military action against Iraq without a debate in the House of Commons and a substantive motion in favour."

I move amendment S1M-3760.3.2, to leave out from "notes" to end and insert:

"endorses United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441 on the basis that it provides a mandate for weapons inspection in Iraq; welcomes the legal opinion of Matrix Chambers on behalf of CND which concluded that Resolution 1441 does not provide an authorisation for military action in Iraq and that any such use of force would breach international law; believes that UN weapons inspectors must be afforded total freedom of access in Iraq and to all evidence in the possession of other states, together with sufficient time in order to produce a comprehensive report for the consideration of the Security Council on the state of Iraqi compliance with the resolution; considers the Iraq inspections should be the first stage in comprehensive investigations of weapons of mass destruction possessed and being pursued by states throughout the world, including the USA, UK, Israel, Pakistan, India, North Korea, Russia and any others who must be persuaded to allow full and comprehensive assessments of nuclear, chemical, biological and other weapons of mass destruction, with a view of pursuing genuine and all-encompassing disarmament of such weapons throughout the world; believes that there is no moral, humanitarian or military reason to go to war with Iraq whether or not the UN gives its approval, and therefore calls on all MSPs to oppose the coming war by all means possible including civil disobedience."