DEPLETED URANIUM MUNITIONS

That this House notes that the British Army maintains depleted uranium (DU) munitions within its arsenal and that 1.9 tonnes of DU rounds were fired by UK forces during Operation Telic in Iraq; recognises continuing media reports of increased rates of certain cancers and congenital malformations in Iraq; acknowledges that the UN Environment Programme has repeatedly called for a precautionary approach to DU use after field investigations in the Balkans and Iraq; recalls that the British Royal Society and World Health Organisation both recommend precautionary measures to reduce post-conflict DU risks; recalls the Government's policy on radioactive discharges which considers that the unnecessary introduction of radioactivity into the environment is undesirable; further notes that precautionary guidelines are in place for British troops to reduce their likelihood of DU exposure and that DU is not used in live firing training on British soil; and calls on the Government to support the resolution to be put before the UN General Assembly this autumn calling on states to take a precautionary approach to the use of DU.