Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We can have a discussion on that issue at a later stage and I will be delighted to accommodate it. Maybe Fr. Bartlett is right and maybe I am wrong. I am not so sure civilisation has changed. Man’s inhumanity to man has not ceased or changed at all. It continues as it was. For example, the war in Rwanda was started by a zealot who had access to a propaganda outlet, a radio station. He revved up the intolerance to such an extent that 500,000 people were killed and the killing was justified by the people who thought that way. That is man’s inhumanity to man. In the western Balkans, similar violence happened in the past 20 years.

While civilisation has come a long way and we have achieved a great deal, we have put man on the moon and have a few other achievements worth mentioning, we still have much to learn about tolerance and the degree to which tolerant people are willing to be tolerant of each other and recognise each other’s existence and their right to exist. I hate to preach. That is not my job; that is Fr. Bartlett's job.

The briefing note from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade notes:

Officials from the Department have met frequently with local Christian leaders from the Middle East region, and discussed the issues affecting their communities. Many of these groups have requested that efforts made on their behalf be carried out discreetly, as any special attention from western countries might increase their difficulties.

Ireland’s 2013 Presidency of the European Union was the occasion of the adoption of the EU Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief, which were approved by EU Foreign Ministers on 24 June 2013.

... Ireland led negotiations on behalf of the EU on the resolution brought forward by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) entitled “Combating intolerance, negative stereotyping and stigmatization of, and discrimination, incitement to violence and violence against, persons based on religion or belief”. This resolution was also adopted by consensus by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2013.

We will bring the witnesses’ remarks to the attention of the powers that be.