Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I will now open up the meeting to members, acknowledging the three issues that were raised at the outset, namely: the situation in Colombia as outlined by Ms Foley and on the video; the issue of the long-term imprisonment including one of the specific cases mentioned, which has been the subject matter of correspondence with our committee and with me, and we will be happy to deal with that; and then the more current situation in Afghanistan as outlined by Mr. Faiz. I acknowledge the words of appreciation of Mr. Faiz with regard to the Irish Government's involvement in the response.

Members will be aware, as are our guests, that the Department of Foreign Affairs is working closely with Departments of Justice and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, as well as with a number of NGOs, to ensure that they are in a position to provide the visa waivers, selecting a number of human rights defenders and particularly those who have been judged to be at high risk. Of a list of 49 persons, 15 cases have been prioritised by Front Line Defenders, some 14 have arrived in Ireland and a further six are due to arrive shortly via the Netherlands. I wish to assure our witnesses, as Mr. Anderson has sought at the outset and as Mr. Faiz has acknowledged, that the Departments, the Government as a whole and the appropriate embassies will continue to work closely with Front Line Defenders to find solutions for the remaining group. In this regard, Mr. Faiz's first-hand knowledge is most important in the context of those wishing to seek safe haven and shelter in Ireland. I understand there are approximately 15 people currently in Pakistan, together with remaining individuals in Afghanistan. This committee would be very pleased to convey Mr. Faiz's first-hand report directly to the office of the Minister, this afternoon or tomorrow, to ensure that we can continue to assist where possible. Mr. Faiz referred to visas at the outset. One of our committee members, Deputy Stanton, is a former Minister of State at the Department of Justice. He is an experienced hand in the issue of visas and visa waivers. I know that he has listened attentively to the presentation. I will now call on Deputy Stanton, then we will proceed to Senator Craughwell and Deputy Berry.