Mr. Eamon Gilmore:

I agree with you, Chairman, about the great contribution that the ambassador, H.E. Ms Cortés Ortiz, has made to the representation of Colombia in Ireland since she became the first resident Colombian ambassador in Ireland. Indeed, I had the privilege of participating with the ambassador yesterday at an event organised by the Glencree centre.

On that subject, I also thank you personally, Chairman. You were Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade at the time when I was appointed as special envoy for Colombia and I want to thank you for your enormous support at that time.

On Belarus, I also agree with you, Chairman, about the sentences that have been handed down today. Mr. Tikhanovsky, Sviatlana's husband, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison. He was charged with impeding the activities of the central election commission even though he was in jail when the elections took place, and with organising mass disorder even though he had been arrested and imprisoned before the protests took place after the election. These are politically motivated charges. This was a politically motivated sentence. It was, as the Deputy said, an act of revenge. It was intended not only to exact revenge on him and the other leaders who have been imprisoned, but also to frighten the rest of society.

There are a number of things that can be done. It is true that the issue of clarifying the legitimacy of the Government of Belarus can only be resolved by new elections. Getting to that point, of course, is another question. The European Union in recent days has agreed to provide an additional €30 million to support Belarusian civil society, including those who are effectively now in exile, as many of them are. In the short term, we have to give attention to the situation of the 900 plus political prisoners, to continue to put a focus on their situation and to continue to call for their right to have visitors from church people, doctors and family. That is an important humanitarian demand that we have to make consistently. We have to continue to support civil society in Belarus, and we are continuing to do that. Importantly, we have to continue to keep a focus on the need for accountability. Lukashenko and the people who are around him, right down to individual prison officers who are in some cases torturing and mistreating prisoners, need to understand that there will be accountability, however long it may take. That day will come.

On the issue of Syria, I agree with you, Chairman. The immediate priority that the European Union is giving to Syria is the humanitarian situation which you have described. The European Union is still the biggest contributor to the humanitarian effort in Syria.

An issue you have also raised that I am conscious of is the need to continue to focus on areas of abuse of human rights and violation of international humanitarian law, all of which we saw in Syria after the cameras and the public attention had moved on. Syria is very much a case in point but there are many other examples in different parts of the world. It is understandable that we give attention to what is in the news today but I am thinking all of the time about the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan and, indeed, the humanitarian situation now in Afghanistan. The reports we are getting are alarming. I am also thinking about the situation in Myanmar after the coup that took place there last February, which is rapidly descending into a civil war situation, and of course the situation in Ethiopia which has been the subject of much attention by the EU at the Human Rights Council, including our proposal that there should be a special session of the council to consider the report from the high commissioner.

Deputy Leddin raised in a supplementary question a direct question which probably requires more time than we can give the last question at an event such as this but it deserves honest discussion. The Deputy asked whether this is being discussed in Colombia. It is not, actually. The big issue being discussed in Colombia centres around the crop, the spraying of it, the forced eradication of it, the tensions that gives rise to between local communities and law enforcement, the violence associated with the illegal trade, and the operation of various illegal groups and cartels. There is an awareness and sometimes the issue of what is being done to address the demand side is raised.

In speaking about this, I am reflecting my own view. I am now six years dealing with the situation in Colombia and I think we need to have a very honest discussion in society. Some people say politicians should lead on this. Perhaps that is the case and there needs to be a political discussion on it but I think there needs to be a wider discussion in society about the use, in particular, of cocaine, which is the main drug coming out of Colombia. As I said, there is marijuana as well. That discussion involves what is the most effective policy approach to take to it. As Deputy Leddin says, is the question one of decriminalising use, regulating it in some way, seeing a more thorough enforcement of the laws that are there or perhaps promoting campaigns of reduction of use or whatever among users? That conversation needs to be an honest one and it needs to be around what will be effective because what I have seen in Colombia for the past six years is that the line of coke leads directly to dead bodies in remote parts of Colombia. Such bodies are mostly of poor people who were trying to make a living and found themselves on the wrong side of the law or of some illegal gang or vested interest. That problem is not solved by telling the growers to stop growing it or even, ultimately, by crop substitution. Of course, crop substitution would be the key part of it.

They are not going to switch to growing coffee or avocados. If there is an armed gang in your village effectively gathering up the profits from cocoa growing, there is likely to be enormous money from it. That is the conversation that needs to be had. That is probably the biggest contribution that Europe and North America can make in the years ahead to the sustaining of peace in Colombia. It is not about telling them what to do; it is a question of what we can do, from our end, to address what is a shared problem. This is not just a Colombian problem; it is a global problem and we are part of it. We need to reflect on it and talk about it. I would be happy to contribute my tuppence ha'penny worth to discussion of whatever policy might be considered. Of course, in doing so, we must consider that it is illegal criminal gangs that are involved in this. It is not just a case of the cocaine end of it, because illegal and international criminals move from one context to another. That has to be part of the discussion as well.

I thank the members and the Chairman for their generosity with their time.