Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 911: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position of the Government in relation to the abuses of religious freedoms in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. [30114/06]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Within the EU and in the relevant international and regional organisations, Ireland actively promotes respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms worldwide. In this context, we monitor reports of abuses of religious freedom wherever they occur.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Religious Freedom or Belief, Ms Asma Jahangir, engages actively with a wide range of countries on incidents and governmental actions inconsistent with the provisions of the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief and recommends remedial measures as appropriate. Ireland expects each UN member state to fully cooperate with UN human rights mechanisms, including this Special Rapporteur.

The Special Rapporteur is concerned that the Government of Uzbekistan has yet to invite her to visit the country, despite her clear wish to do so. I understand that she has also expressed concern about the requirement in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to register religious organisations, noting that registration should in no case be a precondition for practising one's religion. In the case of Uzbekistan, the Special Rapporteur has also emphasised the need for its legislation and practice in this area to be in full conformity with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Ireland is very concerned about the general human rights situation in Uzbekistan. We actively supported EU action, specifically the restrictive measures agreed by the Council last October, as a response to the killing of up to 500 demonstrators at Andijan in May 2005 and the Uzbek Government's handling of the aftermath. The Council will be returning to this matter in the near future.

We also monitor developments in regard to the human rights situation in Kazakhstan. Through its Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, the EU is working to assist Kazakhstan on the path of economic and political reform, including the development of the institutions needed to ensure that human rights standards enshrined in legislation come to be implemented in practice.

Ireland also strongly supports the valuable work of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which includes the countries of Central Asia, in promoting tolerance, intercultural, inter-religious and inter-ethnic understanding. OSCE Participating States committed themselves at the OSCE Ministerial in Ljubljana last December to continue to raise awareness and develop measures to counter prejudice, intolerance and discrimination, while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief. Kazakhstan hosted a major seminar on these issues earlier this year.