Mr. Colin Wrafter:

I will take the matters in the order in which the Deputy raised them - humanitarian corridors in Syria, the issue of child brides, the situation in Colombia and the right to decent work and labour conditions.

The right to decent work and labour conditions is an important one. As I stated in response to Deputy Brendan Smith, the development and human rights agendas are moving closer together. From an Irish Aid perspective, we are conscious that we need to be able to interact, both in terms of our programmes and also policy, with our host or partner countries. What we try to do is encourage these countries to respect human rights standards. Human rights standards do not change, but the situations to which they apply do.

It is an ongoing dialogue and I must admit it is not always easy with some countries in ensuring the very points raised are respected. We need to bear this in mind, not just in the context of the post-2015 agenda, as mentioned by Deputy Brendan Smith, but also in terms of the implementation of the Irish Aid White Paper produced earlier this year.

As I am not an expert on Colombia, I will not try to answer the points thereon in particular detail now. However, we will answer in writing. Having previously worked on that side, in all of our interactions with Colombia, both public and private, we raised concerns, particularly about human rights defenders. I am sure Ms Mary Lawlor and others from Front Line Defenders will not mind my saying they are particularly active in exerting legitimate pressure on us in that regard. We try to deal with these representations as they arise.

The issue of child brides comprises a development question as much as a human rights question. There will not be development until the rights of children and women are respected. Part of an effective development scenario in any country is that girls go to school and do not leave at an early age. The problem with child brides, particularly where there is an element of coercion, is that it hinders development. Early, childhood or forced marriage is a devastating human rights violation in itself, but it also has a multiplier effect as girls and women who are trapped in coerced marriages are deprived of their right to an education. Issues regarding SRHR also arise, as one can imagine. Unfortunately, the problem is also related to the issue of female genital mutilation which is a problem in some cultures. We are keenly aware of this and it is one reason we have raised the issue of female genital mutilation in the UPR consultations.

On the question of humanitarian corridors in Syria, I do not have a particular steer. We will write to the Deputy on this issue. I am quite confident that we will support anything that can be done to alleviate the appalling humanitarian circumstances in Syria. The first requirement is to ensure some kind of peace process. As I stated, the prospect of that happening in the shorter term is not particularly encouraging.