Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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186. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he or his Department has been in touch with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland or the British Foreign Office in relation to the recent disclosure of papers pertaining to torture by the British army of a number of persons in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6378/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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First, I wish to restate that the Government condemns in the strongest terms all forms of torture and ill-treatment. The Government strongly believes that the absolute prohibition of torture is one of the cornerstones of the international human rights framework, and all countries are obligated to comply with this unconditional prohibition. No exceptional circumstances may be invoked as a justification for torture or any other form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

The Government takes the allegations made in the recent television report very seriously and is looking very carefully at the issues. I raised this in discussion with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on Thursday, 2 February, and we agreed that the matter would be followed up by our respective officials. Secretary of State Brokenshire stated that the British Government was clear that it rejected the use of any methods of torture.

The allegations are another deeply concerning example of the suffering that was inflicted on people from all communities during the Troubles, and further underscore the central role of human rights protections in Northern Ireland in ensuring confidence in the evolving peace process.

Ireland is fully committed to the prevention and eradication of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including through our work in the EU and in international fora such as the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.