Mr. David Turner:

I want to respond briefly to members' comments. I thank Deputy Quinn for his specific recommendation that countries be held to account for the commitments they have signed up to. That is a real step forward which this committee could take. Church in Chains, with the other groups, would be very happy to supply a list of the commitments the countries have signed up to. Taking on board what Deputy O’Sullivan said about individual cases, we could match commitments on the one hand with individual cases on the other hand and the committee could take that forward. We would be happy to work with the committee secretariat on that list.

Several contributors spoke about taking this forward at EU and UN level. I agree with them on that. It strengthens my point that a call be made for an official within the human rights unit be dedicated at least part-time to religious freedom. That would mean that organisations, such as ours, could liaise with that individual and there could be continuity of focus. Deputy O’Sullivan also mentioned strengthening the case if we work with other religious groups. That is beginning. I have very good relations with the Baha'i community in Ireland. When it appeared before this committee to speak about the situation in Iran, it also mentioned the fact that Christians were persecuted. I made sure in my contribution to mention its situation. There is the beginning of something and I would be happy to work with others on that. We are not looking for special treatment for Christians, we are looking for equal treatment.