Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 13: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his position on the tragic circumstances of the landless peasant communities in the Bajo Aguán region of northern Honduras where peasant communities who fight for access to land in order to exercise their right to feed themselves are faced with a situation of permanent harassment and abuse by public security forces, as well as by members of private security companies, and where between January 2010 and March 2011 25 deaths - 23 peasants, a journalist and his partner - have been registered relating to conflicts over land in Bajo Aguán. [33715/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I share the Deputy's concern at reports of human rights related deaths in northern Honduras. We have worked closely with our European partners to ensure that our concerns relating to human rights abuses are conveyed to President Porfirio Lobo and his Government. Honduras was reviewed under the UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism in November 2010. At the UPR, Ireland made several recommendations. We specifically expressed our ongoing concern about restrictions on freedom in Honduras, and recommended that Honduras adopt measures to end threats against, and harassment of, human rights defenders and journalists, as well as the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community, and made a number of recommendations in the area of women's rights.

Officials from my Department met with representatives of the United Peasants Movement of Aguan (MUCA) organisation when they visited Ireland in March.

Irish Aid has provided €1.4 million since 2009 to Trocaire for their work in Honduras in the areas of food security, environment, and protection and mitigation against HIV/AIDS. I know that Honduras was the country of focus for Trocaire's Lenten Appeal in 2011, specifically focused on the plight of dispossessed farmers in the Aguan valley region, to which the Deputy has referred.

Ireland also continues to provide support for human rights in the region. Funding of €100,000 was approved in April this year for an Inter-American Commission on Human Rights project which seeks to protect the rights of human rights defenders in Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador. Ireland provided €50,000 of funding in May 2011 for the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG). In 2010 Ireland provided €50,000 in funding for a security sector reform project, Certipol, through which an independent civil society organisation, the Institute for Security and Democracy, seeks to further the ongoing process of police reform in that country.

Honduras experienced a turbulent period after the military coup which took place in June 2009. However, I am encouraged that Honduras was readmitted to the Organisation of American States (OAS) in June. Relations with the EU have been normalised under President Porfirio Lobo's administration. Ireland, along with EU partners, remains committed to supporting the process of national reconciliation in Honduras.