Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

355. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will clarify his response to Parliamentary Question No. 155 of 22 February 2017 (details supplied). [11786/17]

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

356. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 155 of 22 February 2017, his views on the fact that the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR, appears to have unilaterally changed these policies in order to provide confirmation to the government of China as to whether named human rights defenders, HRDs, would attend the Human Rights Council, thereby placing the HRDs and their associates based in China in danger; if the Irish delegation in Geneva will raise this issue with the High Commissioner to determine whether this practice is continuing and whether it has been expanded for other governments; and his plans to instruct the Irish delegation to raise the issue of retaliation against the Irish whistleblower in the OHCHR that reported this practice both internally and then directly to the Irish delegation in March 2016. [11787/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 355 and 356 together.

As is clear from the information provided in my reply of 22 February, Ireland has consistently advocated for the creation and maintenance of a safe and enabling environment for civil society space actors. We believe such a safe and enabling environment should be maintained in all States and indeed in international and regional organisations.

We consistently also advocate strongly for the separate but related issue of the protection of human rights defenders, including through raising greater awareness on the international standards guaranteeing that human rights defenders should be able to operate free from fear of intimidation or reprisals – including intimidation or reprisals due to cooperation with the United Nations.

These are priority issues for Ireland and receive close attention throughout my Department including its network of Embassies and Missions and in particular in the context of our work in Geneva at the Human Rights Council.

Accreditation of participants to the meetings of the Human Rights Council in Geneva is properly a matter for the UN Office in Geneva and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, not the Human Rights Council itself. This procedure is intended to ensure that decisions on civil society participation are taken independently and not determined by Governments.

Ireland’s position is that procedures and modalities for the engagement of human rights defenders with international organisations, including the United Nations, should be of the highest standard and avoid placing those defenders at risk. Similarly, Ireland’s position is that the protection systems for whistleblowers should equally be of the highest standard.

My Department has taken and continues to take all appropriate measures to respond to threats to civil society actors and human rights defenders and particularly in the context of our work in the Human Rights Council.

I can however assure the Deputy that the case referred to has been and continues to be the subject of the appropriate attention.