Written answers

Wednesday, 18 June 2008

Department of Foreign Affairs

Human Rights Issues

9:00 pm

Photo of Jan O'SullivanJan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 71: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the proposals Ireland favours for the implementation of commitment to human rights protection. [23529/08]

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The promotion and protection of human rights and the rule of law has always been a priority of successive Governments and is an important aspect of our foreign policy. Support for institutions and organisations that promote governance, democracy and human rights is an important element of Ireland's official development assistance programme.

Together with our EU partners, the Government monitors the human rights situations in many countries throughout the world, on the basis of information obtained from a variety of sources including both official and non-governmental organisations. Where the situation warrants, we make known our concerns about human rights violations to the Governments in question, either bilaterally, through the EU, or through action at the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council. At these bodies, the EU regularly makes statements on the human rights situations in specific countries from all regions. Ireland is fully associated with these statements. The EU also introduces or supports resolutions in multilateral fora dealing with specific country situations.

The EU conducts human rights dialogues with a number of countries and has also adopted Human Rights Guidelines on certain issues, which contribute to identifying priorities for the EU's human rights policy. The adoption of the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders in 2004 was one of the key priorities of the then Irish Presidency of the EU in the field of human rights. Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is now a standard element of EU trade and cooperation agreements with third countries.

Ireland supports the work of the UN Human Rights Council, which was established in 2006 to replace the Commission on Human Rights and which promotes universal respect for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. A key innovation of the Human Rights Council is the new Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism, whereby each member State of the UN submits to a thorough review of its human rights performance every fourth year. The UPR process has been one of the key elements of reform and is an important innovation to the system of addressing human rights situations on the ground in all UN member States. Part of the UPR process is holding States to account for voluntary pledges and commitments made with regard to human rights protection.

The UPR process complements existing reporting mechanisms under international human rights treaties. Every State is obliged to submit periodic reports and to appear before treaty monitoring bodies on the progress made in domestic implementation of the international human rights treaties it has ratified.

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