Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is extraordinary that Ireland, a supposedly neutral state, would commit eight members of the Defence Forces to work in an EU-NATO operation. There have been disclosures of human rights abuses. Human Rights Watch recently reported various incidents involving the Malian army during this period, including the summary execution of 13 civilians and the disappearance of others, as well as the torture of civilians. The UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide, Adama Dieng, expressed serious concerns about human rights abuses involving the Malian army. Ireland has a proud history of participating in UN blue helmet peacekeeping operations. I acknowledge the Minister is not present because he has been in the Lebanon paying tribute to Defence Force members, of whom we are very proud. However, the operation in Mali is not a blue helmet operation. Our neutrality is very precious. It gives us the capacity to play a role in conflict resolution in parts of the world such as the Middle East, in particular. If the Defence Forces are increasingly working with NATO under whatever guise, this undermines our neutrality.

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