Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Looking at the list, I see No. 1 beside Deputy Clarke’s name and No. 2 beside mine so I assumed that she was ahead of me there. I thank the Chairman and Mr. Gilmore for his statement and contributions to date. In contrast to Senator Joe O’Reilly, we have not met before so it is a pleasure to meet him and it is a pity that we cannot meet in person in the committee room but these are the times that we are in. I want to put on the record that our party, and it is reflected generally, and Ireland are very proud of him and of the work that he is doing in the very important role that he has at the moment. We wish him well in his continued efforts.

Mr. Gilmore has acknowledged the work that is being done over the past five years on the implementation of the agreement from 2016.

It is very important, and I accept that things are going in the right direction. None of this is easy. Having said that, a thousand people have been killed since 2016. Some 65 of those killed in the past year were environmental and land defenders in Colombia. A third of those attacks were targeted at indigenous and Afro-descended people. Half of them were small-scale farmers. I want to mention one particular activist among the 65 who were assassinated. Juana Perea Plata was abducted and assassinated by a right wing militia because she organised a campaign against the establishment of commercial port in her local area. While there have been many achievements, we should not be patting ourselves on the back just yet. I do not think Mr. Gilmore is doing so. It is a process and it will have to continue. There is a lot of very hard work ahead. I will be interested in Mr. Gilmore's comments on the issue of risk to environmental and land defenders in Colombia.

With respect to the presidential elections that are due to take place next year, does Mr. Gilmore consider that these may pose a threat to the process? I do not think that question was asked, and I did not hear him speaking about the matter. Given the amount of work that has been done and that he has done, does he see risks and is he engaging with the various parties, Opposition politicians and civil society groups in advance of those elections?

On the use of foreign aid funds, the departmental briefing note states that Ireland has contributed more than €117 million in funding to peace building and conflict resolution in Colombia between 2016 and this year. The European Union Institute for Security Studies is concerned that the implementation of the peace process is not adequate in that the principles of the peace accord are not matched by the projects that are being carried out and funded. How satisfied is Mr. Gilmore that EU and Irish aid is being transparently distributed and properly used by the Colombian Government in this peace process?

Many people in Colombia look to the European Union as an actor that can make a real impact. One thing we could be asking the Colombian Government to ratify is the Escazú agreement, which, I understand, is similar to the Aarhus Convention in Europe. It would provide safeguards for activists in respect of access to justice provisions. Perhaps Mr. Gilmore could update the committee on what the EU is doing to discuss ratification of the Escazú agreement with the Colombian Government.

I note Mr. Gilmore's response to Deputy Brady on the sustainable corporate governance directive and the push by the Irish Coalition for Business and Human Rights. He mentioned that Ireland has adopted an action plan and was one of the first to do so, which is very welcome. I would like to hear Mr. Gilmore's thoughts on going further and bringing in legislation in that area.