Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 35: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position with regard to proposals to instigate United Nations sanctions against Syria; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33278/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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On 31 October, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1636, welcoming the report of the UN International Investigation Commission into the assassination of the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Mr. Rafiq Hariri, in Beirut on 14 February 2005. The commission, under the German investigator, Mr. Detlev Mehlis, submitted an interim report on 19 October which indicated that major lines of inquiry pointed to the involvement of senior Lebanese and Syrian officials in the murder. The report stated that Syrian officials had not been fully co-operative with the inquiry, and had, indeed, attempted to mislead it.

Security Council Resolution 1636 notes that serious questions remain to be answered by the Syrian authorities and requires that Syria extend full co-operation to the inquiry. The mandate of the commission has been extended to 15 December 2005. The resolution requests the commission of inquiry to make a further report to the Security Council by 15 December on issues, including the level of co-operation by the Syrian authorities, so that the Council can, if necessary, consider further action.

While some Security Council members have made known their views on possible sanctions against Syria, there has been no such decision by the Security Council. Syria has denied involvement in the murder of Mr. Hariri, has pledged full co-operation with the investigation and has established its own internal inquiry. The Government, and our partners in the EU, believe it is essential that Syria acts immediately on its stated intention to co-operate with the investigation. We hope that when the commission reports to the Security Council in mid-December, it will be in a position to state that Syria has co-operated fully so that those responsible for the assassination can be brought to justice.