Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 104: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the reason the Government did not comply with the Secretary General of the UN, Mr. Kofi Annan, in providing relevant information to enable him to prepare a report on the implementation of the UN General Assembly Resolution No. 58/7 entitled, Necessity of Ending the Economic, Commercial and Financial Embargo imposed by the USA against Cuba; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18161/04]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Government's position on the US embargo has been made clear over the years by our voting pattern, and that of our EU partners, in the UN General Assembly, most recently on 4 November 2003. On that date, the General Assembly approved Resolution 58/7 — necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba.

The main effect of Resolution 58/7 is to reiterate the General Assembly's call upon all states to refrain from promulgating and applying laws and measures such as the Helms-Burton Act of 1996. The resolution further urges states that have and continue to apply such laws and measures to take the necessary steps to repeal or invalidate them as soon as possible.

Each year, in accordance with the terms of the resolution, it is customary for the UN Secretary General to prepare a report on the implementation of the resolution. In line with this, on 19 April 2004, the UN Secretary General, Mr. Annan, invited all UN member states to provide any relevant information by 16 June 2004.

Since the Government has never promulgated or applied laws or measures such as the Helms-Burton Act, it has not been customary to make a submission to the UN Secretary General on this matter. The Irish Presidency has, however, conveyed an EU submission to the UN Secretary General, which includes the following:

The European Union believes that United States trade policy towards Cuba is fundamentally a bilateral issue. Nevertheless, the European Union and its member states have clearly expressed their opposition to the extraterritorial extension of the United States embargo, such as that contained in the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992 and the Helms-Burton Act of 1996.