Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

I am grateful for the Minister's reply. We will shortly arrive at the point at which we must discuss a response from the United Nations. The decision at the UN summit meeting of 2005 to regard human rights protection as a core principle was a defining moment in the history of the organisation. With the election in Zimbabwe having taken place in imperfect conditions which cannot be scrutinised, one is left with a discussion about human rights violations and human rights protection. The question of the role of South Africa also arises in this context.

The UN Secretary General and his predecessor spoke of the delegation of competences to regional authorities, including the African Union. I agree with this proposition and it may well be the case that Ireland will, perhaps through the European Union, raise at the United Nations the question of whether the African Union proposes to exercise a competence which may be given to it under the 2005 United Nations declaration on the protection of human rights. This issue is underlined by the blockage placed in the way of non-governmental organisations which could have been partially allowed to return and the incarceration of members of the opposition in Zimbabwe.

In the all-party motion the House discussed on 15 May Members were ad idem on the conditions which would have a positive effect, including the posting of results and the presence of observers as well as the right of the police or the army to enter polling stations. We need a description of events as they unfold. The African Union cannot resile from its obligations as a regional authority, possibly with delegated functions under a universal declaration on human rights protection made at a UN summit in 2005.

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