Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 20 March 2023 to Question HL6144 on Ukraine: Ammunition and to UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/77/49 adopted by the General Assembly on 7 December 2022, if prior to making the decision to provide Ukraine with ammunition, including armour piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium, he held discussions with relevant international organisations about the finding in the Resolution that the magnitude of the potential long-term effects on human beings and the environment of the use of armaments and ammunitions containing depleted uranium is not yet fully understood.

No. Given the lack of tangible evidence to the contrary, we do not recognise the presupposed potential risk to health and the environment and therefore do not support UN resolutions that presuppose depleted uranium is harmful.

The UK notes that environmental and long-term health effects of the use of depleted uranium munitions have been thoroughly investigated by the World Health Organization, the United Nations Environmental Program, the International Atomic Energy Agency, NATO, the Centres for Disease Control, the European Commission, and others, none of which has documented long-term environmental or health effects attributable to use of these munitions.