Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On a different vein, something I have raised on a number of occasions relating to other EU trade agreements and neighbourhood agreements is the question of the human rights record of a country and a regime that, if these measures are passed, is receiving supports and endorsements from the EU, which is how they are used. I note what the Minister of State has said on the changes or improvements in the human rights regime in Kazakhstan.

The improvements have been very minor in the context of the abuses perpetrated in that country.

I am aware that in the past the European Union funded a project entitled, Enhancing Criminal Justice in Kazakhstan. It also co-funded support programmes for the Kazakh authorities to improve the quality and efficiency of the justice system. However, human rights workers and the international bodies that have examined the reports have stated the officially presented outcomes do not in any way correspond with reality. The reality is that 140 participants in peaceful protests in May and June are being prosecuted and persecuted for attending the rallies. One of the key human rights defenders, Elena Semenova, was banned from leaving the country to raise these issues at an international parliamentary assembly. These are not the actions of a country that embraces fully the human rights conditions set by the European Union. Does the Minister of State think it should withhold funding from Kazakhstan, unless it makes genuine progress in dealing with human rights issues, rather than seek the implementation of a co-operation agreement? In particular, we know that the co-operation agreement with Israel which includes very strict, or what look like very strict, sanctions, including suspension of the agreement if the human rights conditions are breached, but that has never happened. I do not know of any EU co-operation agreement, to date, that has been suspended owing to a breach of the conditions and protocols set by the European Union. It is inappropriate or, at the very least, premature for us to sign up to this agreement. If we were to withhold signing it, we would do a lot more for the people of Kazakhstan. The regime has ruled with an iron fist and might be discouraged from perpetrating human rights abuses in the hope it could reach an agreement in the future. If we sign up to the agreement, it will view it as an endorsement and carry on regardless.