Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We recently had an exchange on Priority Questions in relation to Libya and the detention centres there. I acknowledge the contribution made by the Minister of State at the European General Affairs Council in Luxembourg where she followed up on those concerns and spoke about the concern about human rights abuses in the centres in Libya. It is unfortunate that on 11 October an Italian naval ship helped the Libyan coast guard as it headed off some 228 migrants in the central Mediterranean, returning them back to the so-called reception centres in Libya but we know they are detention centres.

I wish to focus on a particular issue, which Deputy Boyd Barrett raised, namely, the Turkish situation and the group that visited today. As the Taoiseach said before he left, this will be discussed at the next meeting and I hope that it can be addressed. Those people who criticise, question and challenge the government and who voice different opinions are the ones who are being penalised in Turkey. Asking questions, criticising, having a free press and a free media are rights we all have in Ireland and that are shared by all European citizens. The targets in Turkey are those who are working in the media such as journalists, members of the judiciary, teachers, trade unionists public servants and also Members of Parliament. As has been said, there was a five-day human rights workshop in Turkey in July this year. It came out of a previous meeting in April, so it was very transparent. Everybody knew about it. It came from the Human Rights Joint Platform in Turkey. Its goals are collaborative work and solidarity among civil society organisations who work on human rights. It also wants access for all of those groups to knowledge on human rights and it is also about strengthening an environment in Turkey that would be supportive of democracy and the rule of law. It has also worked with Government agencies and civil society. Some of the work it has been doing has been on gender equality, children's rights, justice and protection of human rights defenders. Everybody - the EU, the UN, the OSCE and the Council of Europe - accepts the role of human rights defenders and how they have to be protected in order to do that work.

Four of the group that were arrested at the workshop were women and six of them were men. Since their detention more of their rights have been violated. There was no presumption of innocence. What happened in the Turkish media was a deliberate smear campaign and a hate campaign which begs the question of whether they will even get a fair trial when the case is heard next week. Limited access to them has been provided to their lawyers and very little opportunity has been provided to their supporters to have space in the media to point out the distortions that have been happening. They are also enduring human rights violations in prison and some have been in solitary confinement for over a month. Two of the group do not speak Turkish so they are at a particular disadvantage and their health problems are going unattended. I hope that our embassy and consular service can attend at the trial next week in Istanbul.

I also draw attention to a Council of Europe report on the violation of women's rights in Turkey. Of the 100,000 or so public employees who have lost their jobs, 23% of them are women belonging to a particular trade union. A number of women's associations have been closed down. Events to celebrate International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and International Women's Day have been prevented from happening. Female judges and prosecutors have been dismissed also and there have been accounts of torture and ill treatment of those women while they were in custody. We know also that Kurdish women are facing very particular problems. This is a violation of human rights. Again, it is important that the EU voice is there. We are aware of EU-Turkish relationships. Is the EU choosing to turn a blind eye to those violations of human rights because of the arrangements it has with Turkey on migrants?

World MPs have condemned the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya community in Myanmar, the violence and the forced displacement and the movement of 1 million into Bangladesh but a number of them are still displaced within Burma. The resolution recommends creating temporary safe zones inside Myanmar under UN supervision so there is respect for everybody regardless of ethnicity or religion. I hope we can support that resolution.

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