Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and I commend his empathetic involvement with this abhorrent state of affairs. There are 650 political prisoners in prison in Belarus. Not only are they in prison in the normal sense, they are subject to torture and sexual assault. As cited by the Minister, the threat to the children of the female prisoners is a horror. It is all a horror. The abuse and misuse of migrants as objects of war and collateral damage, leaving them stuck at the border, is shocking. I agree with my colleague, Senator O'Loughlin, that they should be given international protection and support.

Ireland supported the appointment of the UN High Commissioner to examine human rights violations. I ask the Minister to comment on how that is progressing, if a report has been published and the outcome in that regard. We are supporting the EU sanctions but it seems they are not having enough impact or achieving the desired result. I ask the Minister to comment in his response on what we can do in the area of further sanctions that might be effective and on whether Ireland could be a leader in that regard. He might also comment on what we have done and can do within the UN Security Council.

It is good we have given €100,000 to the Lithuanian Red Cross. We have a huge connection to Belarus and, I think, to Lithuania in terms of the large immigrant population here and the link with Chernobyl Children International, CCI. It is interesting that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has a direct connection with Tipperary. It gives an Irish feel to CCI and there is popular support here for it. I commend Turlough Deenihan for his work with Libereco on human rights issues here. The situation in Belarus is appalling. We have to continue our work until the regime is brought down but it will be difficult to do that.

Senator Mullen made an interesting point when he said that the numbers on the streets are reducing. That is a grave concern and another reason further initiatives around sanctions and the UN etc. are important. I again thank the Minister for being here for this debate.