Seanad debates

Wednesday, 27 June 2012

7:00 pm

Photo of Jim WalshJim Walsh (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State. My Adjournment matter relates to the need for the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to make a statement on the need for the former Camp Liberty in Iraq to be recognised as a refugee camp under the UN flag and his willingness to pursue at EU level the resettlement of refugees from Camp Ashraf in Iraq to EU countries. Since the Minister of State's reply might make reference to it, I am aware that the group involved in Camp Ashraf forms part of the People's Mujahedin of Iran, PMOI, which was designated as a terrorist organisation more than 15 years ago. I am aware that the United States bombed these camps on at least one occasion and also that the National Council of Resistance of Iran, NCRI, has taken a case in the United States, with the US Court of Appeals giving the Secretary of State four months to determine the position and whether a group opposed to Iran should be removed from the list of foreign terrorist organisations. It has been indicated that if the Secretary of State fails to take action within four months, the petition for a writ of mandamus setting aside the foreign terrorist organisation designation will be granted. It is clear that the courts were far from satisfied with the failure to back up the designation which was granted when Dr. Condoleezza Rice was Secretary of State.

Following the attacks by Iraqi forces on Ashraf, in which 47 people were killed and over 1,000 injured, an agreement was signed at the end of 2011 between the United Nations and Iraq to relocate the residents inside the country before allowing the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, to carry out its refugee determination process to transfer them to third countries. The people within the camps were encouraged, as part of an attempt to find a peaceful solution, to transfer to Camp Liberty, which was agreed to, despite the legal right to stay in Ashraf.

Ashraf residents have movable and immovable properties because they have been there for a considerable number of years and these properties are estimated to be worth over €500 million. They were built and obtained through their own efforts and with their own money, yet Iraq does not allow them to sell them in Iraq or transfer them to another country. Camp Liberty does not meet humanitarian and human rights standards. There is a heavy presence of armed forces and vehicles, a lack of freedom of movement, a serious shortage of infrastructure such as water, electricity and sewerage systems, and also a lack of necessary facilities for the disabled and the elderly. All of these facilities are available in Camp Ashraf, provided at the residents' own expense. Iraq justifies these restrictions under the pretext that Camp Liberty is a temporary transit location.

Only last week a committee of the European Parliament refused to meet a high level delegation from Iraq because it included the commander involved in the camps. There is international recognition of the issue. While condemning violations of the Iranian dissidents' rights in Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty, there is a real need for the United Nations and the United States to compel Iraq to stop imposing inhumane restrictions on residents, particularly preventing them from selling or transferring properties. The United Nations and the UNHCR must recognise Camp Liberty as a refugee camp. I am asking that we play our part in achieving this. The matter also covers the resettlement of people from Camp Ashraf who do not want to move to Camp Liberty because of what has happened there, the conditions in which people live and the risk to them. Apart from whether one subscribes to their political beliefs, it is important from a humanitarian perspective that we are seen to play our part in this regard. I, therefore, ask that Ireland play its part in having other countries in the European Union accept refugees from Camp Ashraf.

It is important to state the leadership of the resistance movement has responded to allegations that there are weapons at Camp Ashraf by saying it would support a call on the American State Department and the Department of Defense to task the US military with immediately inspecting Camp Ashraf with necessary equipment and announcing the findings. In other words, it would welcome independent verification by the United States that there are no weapons in the camp.

I attended a rally the group held in Paris over the weekend. A former UN official who was personally involved and left the service because of qualms of conscience about this issue indicated that the UN base in Iraq and Baghdad had falsified documents on the conditions at Camp Liberty in order to meet the requirements of those above who wanted more favourable pronouncements and assessments of the camp. That is appalling, although it is a separate issue.

Photo of Lucinda CreightonLucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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I am taking this matter on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Eamon Gilmore.

In December 2011 an agreement was reached between the United Nations - specifically the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees - and the Government of Iraq on the closure of Camp Ashraf in Iraq. The camp residents agreed to their relocation under its terms. The process for the closure of the camp has been under way since February this year, under the supervision of the UNHCR and the UN Special Representative, Mr. Martin Kobler. Of the 3,400 residents in Camp Ashraf, approximately 2,000 have now transferred to Camp Hurriya, formerly Camp Liberty, near Baghdad. This is designated as a temporary transit location from which the residents will move on to more permanent accommodation in other countries which both the residents and the Iraqi authorities now agree is the desired solution. The transfer process to Camp Hurriya is a difficult one, with great distrust and suspicion between the two sides. This issue has been well outlined by the Senator.

In Camp Hurriya the UNHCR is processing the individual residents and determining where best to relocate them. A number of residents may already have a citizenship or other claim to relocation in another country and the UNHCR is identifying these first. The remaining residents, probably a majority, must be found relocation places in other countries. The UNHCR is encouraging countries to make such places available.

It is important to be aware of the wider background to these issues, some of which have been alluded to by the Senator. Camp Ashraf was set up as a military base by the People's Mujahidin of Iran, PMOI, in 1986. The PMOI was classed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union until 2009 and is still so formally designated by the US Government. Neither the PMOI nor the political wing, the NCRI, has significant support inside Iran and the people concerned cannot be regarded as the Iranian resistance or a government in exile. Their forces assisted Saddam Hussein in the violent suppression of uprisings in the Shia and Kurdish communities in Iraq, during which large numbers of civilians were massacred. By its own admission, the PMOI admitted responsibility for numerous attacks in Iran resulting in thousands of deaths during the paramilitary campaign. Although no longer engaged in violence, the PMOI has continued to run Camp Ashraf in a tightly controlled and near totalitarian manner, with well documented reports, including from Human Rights Watch, of the abuse and intimidation of residents.

Following the war of 2003, the new Iraqi Government took a very different view of the presence of the PMOI enclave in the country and sought at first to move it from its position near the Iranian border. Latterly, when this was resisted by the residents, the Iraqi Government has moved more strongly to have the camp closed altogether and the PMOI and the residents moved to other countries. Although the background from which Iraq has approached the issue is appreciated, the protection and human rights of the residents are key concerns for Ireland, its EU partners and the wider international community. The European Union has enunciated a series of essential principles regarding Camp Ashraf and its residents. Iraq is, once again, a fully sovereign state, no longer under the tutelage of either the United States or the United Nations. It has sovereignty over the camps and is within its rights in seeking to move Camp Ashraf away from the Iranian border. Equally, this means that the Iraqi Government is responsible for the safety and humane treatment of the residents. There must be no question of forced return of any resident to Iran and the Iraqi authorities have accepted this. The process under the UNHCR is the agreed and only means of resolving the situation at Camp Ashraf and should be adhered to.

With regard to the living conditions in Camp Hurriya, we call on the Iraqi authorities to allow all reasonable provision for the safety and comfort of the residents, including the transfer of necessary equipment and property from Camp Ashraf. In doing so, we recognise that it is the judgment of the UNHCR that Camp Hurriya is of an acceptable standard to accommodate refugees. The precise status of the camp is a matter for the UNHCR and the Iraqi authorities to decide.

Photo of Jim WalshJim Walsh (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive reply but it did not state if we will pursue at EU level efforts to have these refugees resettled in Europe. The UN has said the camp is of an acceptable standard but I have personally heard the person who was involved in drafting that report stating it was falsified. That was my point; it is an appalling vista, should it be true. Given we are endeavouring to secure a place on the human rights council of the UN, it would be vital to take up that. I have also heard serious criticism of the UN representative but I do not have any personal knowledge about the veracity of that. It came from people who are more familiar with the situation within the European Parliament and elected representatives within the US.

Photo of Lucinda CreightonLucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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On resettlement, as a country that promotes and values human rights - a core aspect of our foreign policy - we encourage it but it is the sovereign decision of individual member states as to whether they accept refugees or not. Of course we encourage others and Ireland will try to play its role but for historical and political reasons we must be sensitive. Some member states in the European Union are reluctant to accept refugees because of the character, history and make up of the PMOI. We must be sensitive to that reality while trying to pursue the objective the Senator outlines and with which I agree.

I cannot stand in the House and pronounce on the veracity or otherwise of a report. We put our trust in the United Nations as a vital multilateral institution, one which we are very involved in and often leading in the field of human rights promotion. I cannot stand over that claim, I can only say that in respect of any doubts, we will explore them. Ireland is seeking a nomination to the human rights council and we hope we will be successful in that election. If we are, we will be in a stronger position to proceed with some of these issues.