Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 95: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he favours the sending of a high level group from the European Union, or from member states including Ireland, to prepare a report on the deteriorating situation in Kenya, the humanitarian crisis which has emerged, the implications of displacement, and the failure to achieve transparency in all aspects of the electoral process, despite the presence of international observers including those from the European Union. [3947/08]

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 98: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps the Government is taking to raise concerns regarding the possible violation of the fundamental human rights of Kenyan people following media reports of ethnic cleansing in the Rift Valley; if the distribution of Irish Aid is affected by recent developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3950/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 95 and 98 together.

I remain deeply concerned by recent developments in Kenya, where over 1,000 people have been killed and between 250,000 and 300,000 have been displaced from their homes in the aftermath of the elections on 27 December and the announcement of the re-election of Mr. Kibaki as President. The initial assessment by the EU election observation mission which monitored the elections stated that they fell short of key international and regional standards for democratic elections. The chairman of the Electoral Commission of Kenya , Mr. Samuel Kivuitu, said that he could not say if Mr. Kibaki had won the election fairly, while Mr. Amos Wako, the Kenyan Attorney General, has called for an inquiry into Mr. Kibaki's re-election, casting serious doubts on the official election results. It is important that all such allegations of election irregularities are urgently and thoroughly investigated through the appropriate channels.

The ethnic dimension to the violence which has occurred is a matter of particular concern, and responsible leadership at the highest level is urgently needed. I am also concerned by the fact that two Opposition MPs have been among those killed. Any efforts to resolve the current crisis must also address more long-term issues, such as the need for constitutional and electoral reform and greater progress in tackling corruption within Kenya, as well as the immediate issue of the disputed election outcome.

A panel of eminent African personalities, headed by the former UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, is currently attempting to mediate a political settlement between the Kenyan Government and the Opposition. President Kibaki and Mr. Odinga have had two face-to-face meetings since the election, on 24 and 29 January in Nairobi, as part of Mr. Annan's mediation efforts. These efforts achieved a breakthrough on 1 February, with agreement on a framework for negotiations covering the election outcome, the humanitarian situation, the political crisis and land tenure and reform issues. The discussions are due to last a month and aim to end the current violence within two weeks. At the same time, the fact that violence has continued is deeply disturbing. The UN last night approached the Irish Mission in New York requesting us, along with a number of other donors, to provide financial support for the Annan-led mediation efforts. Given our strong national support for Mr. Annan's efforts, we will respond positively to this request immediately.

My EU colleagues and I discussed Kenya at the General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels on 28 January. Council conclusions were agreed which stress the need for a political solution to the violence in Kenya, and call on all sides to give the necessary full support to the mediation efforts of the eminent panel. The Council conclusions make clear the EU's willingness to assist Mr. Annan's efforts in any way it can, if requested. They stress that any solution must reflect the democratic will of the Kenyan people and that failure by Kenya's leaders to work seriously for a political resolution at this time is likely to have implications for future EU-Kenya relations.

Senior officials from my Department have held meetings in relation to the situation with the Kenyan Ambassador in Dublin, and have conveyed to her the Government's serious concerns, particularly in regard to threats made against human rights defenders in Kenya, including Mr. Kiai, the head of the Kenyan National Commission for Human Rights. The ambassador has confirmed that these concerns have been relayed to the highest levels of her government. My Department has also been closely monitoring the consular situation and has regularly updated its travel advice, cautioning against any non-essential travel at the present time. Ireland is a significant humanitarian donor to Kenya. However, as the Deputies will be aware, no aid goes through the Kenyan Government. Since 2006, Irish Aid has provided just over €6 million in humanitarian funding for Kenya. In addition to this, Irish Aid has provided over €16 million in funding since 2006 to Irish, international and local NGOs as well as missionaries working in Kenya, including World Vision, Trócaire and Concern.

Last month, I announced an extra €1million in humanitarian funding for Kenya to be distributed through Irish NGOs there. As indicated, we will also make funding available to support the Annan mediation talks. There are no indications at the current time that humanitarian aid is not reaching those for whom it is intended. I will, of course, continue to monitor the situation closely.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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I welcome the Minister's reply and the financial support for the Annan mission — as well as the additional support that has been committed in humanitarian aid. I shall be supportive of any further requests that are received.

I want to touch on that part of my question that asked about the violence that has broken out following the election. It relates to the answer to the previous question, to some extent. I have served as an election observer in Latin America and in Cambodia. The European Union appoints long-term as well as short-term observers. The difficulties in the Kenyan case mean that the whole election observing mission must be reconceptualised to include, for example, the tally. The informal results that flowed from the election, in fact, were the trigger for the violence that happened in Kenya. Again, it was an injudicious media leak that led to the violence in Ethiopia. This time, perhaps, it was the responsibility of the European Union Mission. It is worth considering the restructuring of the observation process. The long-term approach meant that some 80% of the abuses are in the registration process. The short-term is quite limited in its utility, looking only at polling day, when in fact it is the context and the media outfall that is important.

As I have said, I welcome the Government's response to the humanitarian side. Is the Minister not concerned, however, that the impact of so-called displacement is effectively little short of ethnic cleansing, to some extent, as regards the population movements? Finally, in relation to what is happening in different parts of Africa, the largest proportion of that continent's population ever displaced is currently moving across borders in different conflicts, creating problems that cannot be handled by relationships among sovereign states and raising an entirely new set of issues as regards the human rights of the displaced peoples.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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On the latter point, that is one of the reasons why it was suggested Ireland should not attend the recent EU-AU Summit. It was one of the reasons we were absent, at least at Head of Government level. Our view, emphatically, was that we should attend, on the basis that we need to have a better relationship with the African Union, which is doing its level best with the difficulties attendant on it, to deal with some of these issues. As the Deputy has said, the trans-border migration of tribes is not just an issue for Kenya, where there have been significant numbers of displaced peoples, but also for Chad, Sudan, Somalia and other countries.

As regards the humanitarian situation, there is no particular evidence at this time. As part of the EU, however, we shall continue to monitor developments. The situation is still serious, no doubt, but it has stabilised, despite a number of incidents in the last week or so. As regards the whole issue surrounding the term "ethnic cleansing", there is no doubt ethnic conflict is occurring. Much of this may be because the issue of the election has resurrected old scores and people, in effect, are perhaps pursuing old issues to do with land tenure. I believe this accounts for a large element of what is happening between some of the tribes. One must realise this is a very large country, with something like 40 different ethnic groupings and a population of 35 million. By and large the unrest is confined to the Rift Valley area, although in one location there are some continuing difficulties. Ultimately, the Annan process is one to which the two main political rivals seem to subscribe. A number of countries, particularly in Africa, through the African Union, are endeavouring to assist this initiative. I strongly agree with Deputy Higgins as regards the more long-term monitoring aspect of the registration process — within the election process. That is something that might, perhaps, be looked at in the context of the Annan mediation talks, and we shall raise this issue.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister's reply as regards the amount of funding the Irish Government has given to Kenya over a number of years, in particular the €1 million given in recent times. We are well aware of Irish development agencies working in Kenya, such Goal and Trócaire and of course the many Irish missionaries there. I believe every parish could name someone working in Kenya, whether as a nun or priest. I know a Fr. Martin Keane, who works there.

While doing research on this question before coming to the Chamber, I came across a clip from Youtube. It showed the difficulties the Red Cross has in distributing food in Kenya, particularly with the widespread roadblocks and the numbers of people displaced. It reported 1,000 people being killed, 300,000 displaced from their homes etc. I wonder whether the Irish missionaries or agencies working in Kenya have experienced any of that. Are any of our missionaries in danger, particularly those who might be working in the Rift Valley?

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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As far as possible we have liaised with all the people with whom we have contact and know are in Kenya. I agree with the Deputy as regards the very strong Irish missionary presence there. At this time we are not aware of anyone who is in grave difficulty. After the initial outbreak of difficulties, however, we aided and assisted a considerable number of people.

As regards the logistics of delivering food, there has been a dramatic improvement. The World Food Programme, WFP, provided 80 metric tonnes in a significant internally displaced persons, IDP, camp, sufficient for one month's supplies. On Friday and Saturday, 70 metric tonnes of food cereal and 27 metric tonnes of non-cereal were distributed to another ten sites. There were some difficulties. The Deputy is correct in his indication that WFP trucks had been stopped at roadblocks, but these have now proceeded with security escorts. It would appear the issue of humanitarian aid delivery is being looked after. There may, obviously, be incidents here and there, but by and large we are happy the aid is being delivered.