Gay Mitchell (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 182: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he has taken in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12319/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I have followed with concern the case of Mr. Abdul Rahman who was charged in Afghanistan with apostasy for converting from Islam to Christianity, a charge punishable by death under Sharia law. I am pleased to hear that Mr. Rahman was released from custody in the past couple of days and I welcome reports that he is likely to be accepted by a third country.

The EU has been monitoring the situation closely and EU heads of mission in Kabul have been and remain in active contact with the Afghan authorities. Article 2 of the Afghan Constitution enshrines the right to religious freedom and the EU heads of mission sought assurances from the Afghan Government that it would fully respect this right. The EU also conveyed to the Afghan Government its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

I should also emphasise that Ireland, along with its EU partners, is adamantly opposed to use of the death penalty under any circumstances. The EU has, on a number of occasions, raised this issue with the Afghan authorities and pressed for the death penalty to be abolished. Ireland and the EU will continue to closely monitor developments in Mr. Rahman's case, and to raise this and related human rights concerns with the Afghan authorities.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 183: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps he has taken to obtain information from the Chinese Government regarding the existence of a concentration camp in Sujiatun, Shenyang Province, China in which it is alleged that Falun Gong practitioners are being detained, killed and organ-harvested; the options which are open to him to obtain information on same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12320/06]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 184: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his Department's position regarding allegations against the Chinese Communist Party on the establishment of a secret concentration camp in Sujiatun, Shenyang Province, China in which Falun Gong practitioners are being detained for the purposes of organ harvesting; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12321/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 183 and 184 together.

I am aware of reports that are circulating on the issues raised. I am unable at present, however, to confirm the reliability of these reports, but I have asked my Department, in particular through the embassy in Beijing, to look into the situation as a matter of urgency and to report back to me.

Without prejudice to the outcome of the above inquiries, Ireland and the EU remain concerned about the situation of Falun Gong practitioners in China and have raised our concerns with the Chinese Government on many occasions. Human rights issues are a constant and important point of dialogue with the Chinese authorities at both bilateral and European Union level. In our bilateral exchanges, human rights concerns were raised most recently with the Chinese Government during the visit by the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, to China for St. Patrick's Day earlier this month. At EU level, the EU-China human rights dialogue is the agreed formal framework through which the EU raises its concerns with China about individual human rights cases, and more general issues such as the abolition of the death penalty.

At the latest round of the human rights dialogue, held in Beijing on 24 October 2005, the EU raised, inter alia, the right to freedom of religion and the need for reform of the administrative detention system, including the associated re-education through labour, RTL, camps, where Falun Gong members, among others, are known to be detained. The next round of the dialogue will take place in Vienna in May.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 185: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the growth of an ultra-right party in Bulgaria — Ataka — which has campaigned on an anti-Roma platform; if his attention has further been drawn to the very high levels of anti-Roma racism as evidenced by recent studies showing that over a quarter of ethnic Bulgarians support their forced expulsion from the country; the implications this has for Bulgaria's accession to the EU in 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12322/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of the Ataka party in Bulgaria. At the most recent election in June 2005 the party received 9% of the vote. It does not form part of the governing coalition and the policies it advocates are not those of the Bulgarian Government.

The existence of anti-Roma sentiment is unfortunately a feature of society in parts of central and eastern Europe where most of Europe's Roma live, including Bulgaria. This issue has been acknowledged by the Governments concerned. In Sofia in February 2005 Bulgaria and seven other countries from the region announced a major regional initiative to address the problem through the "decade of Roma inclusion". Under this initiative, Bulgaria and other governments are committed to working together towards eliminating discrimination and closing the gaps between the Roma and the rest of society over the period 2005 to 2015. The initiative focuses in particular on access for the Roma to education, housing, employment and health care.

Following the signing of the accession treaty for Romania and Bulgaria on 25 April 2005, the performance of the Bulgarian authorities with regard to protection and integration of minorities, in particular the Roma community, continues to be closely monitored by the European Union as part of the pre-accession process. In its most recent monitoring report, published on 25 October 2005, the European Commission stated that Bulgaria continues to fulfil the Copenhagen political criteria, while noting that further sustained efforts are required to realise the effective integration of the Roma minority. The issue was raised at the recent EU-Bulgaria Association Council on 31 January 2006. The association council noted that implementation of the Bulgarian framework programme for equal integration of Roma into Bulgarian society is ongoing, while underlining that the programme requires additional attention. The European Commission will publish two further monitoring reports in the coming months as part of the ongoing intensive monitoring process.