Breeda Moynihan-Cronin (Kerry South, Labour)
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Question 87: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the adequacy of the response by the Government of Egypt and the United Nations in terms of international law to the killing and injuring of large numbers of Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers in the course of the forceful dispersal of a protest in front of the UN in Cairo, specifically in view of the fact that some estimates put the number of dead at over 200; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6998/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The tragic events which took place in Cairo on 30 December 2005 were shocking. According to information available to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 27 Sudanese demonstrators were killed in clashes with the police, who had acted to break up a demonstration at the UNHCR office in Cairo. I would like to take this opportunity to extend our sympathies to the families of those were killed, and to the people who were injured.

I share the profound regret expressed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that this situation was not resolved peacefully and through dialogue, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had consistently urged. Some 2,500 Sudanese migrants had been demonstrating at the UNHCR office in Cairo since 29 September, to protest at their living conditions and to demand resettlement in third countries. It is deeply regrettable that patient mediation efforts, involving intensive dialogue between the UNHCR and the Egyptian authorities, failed to avert a tragic outcome. Violence of this nature can never be justified. Following the incident, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cairo expressed the grief and sorrow of the Egyptian Government at the deaths and injuries and underlined its commitment to working in cooperation with the UNHCR to meet its obligations to Sudanese refugees in Egypt.

Since the incident, the UNHCR has been working closely with the Egyptian Government for the release of all the demonstrators who were detained on 30 December and to ensure that none are deported from Egypt, in particular to the Darfur region. In January, the UNHCR also resumed the registration of asylum seekers and the renewal of identity cards which, since September, had been hampered by the demonstrations.

The situation of Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers in Egypt remains a matter of concern. The Government fully supports the work of the UNHCR in relation to the legal status of Sudanese migrants in Egypt, and their living conditions. It is essential that the UNHCR and the Egyptian Government work closely together to ensure that there is no repeat of the tragic events which occurred at the end of September.

Ireland is also playing its part. For the past number of years, the Government has been providing much-needed assistance, administered through the embassy in Cairo, to contribute to meeting the medical and education needs of Sudanese refugees in Cairo and in Alexandria.