Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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108. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts being made at international level to combat human rights abuses and the persecution of religious minorities at various locations globally including Myanmar; if specific action is required to deal with the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48665/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion is regarded as a fundamental and universal right for every human being, provided for under Article 18 of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.

Freedom of religion and belief is one of the priorities of Ireland’s international engagement on human rights. At the United Nations General Assembly Ireland consistently condemns all forms of persecution, intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief. We also raise our concerns at the Universal Periodic Review, (UPR) a unique peer mechanism of the Human Rights Council under which the human rights records of all UN Member States are reviewed. The current round of UPR is taking place from 6 to 17 November.

In September at the 36th session of the Human Rights Council, Ireland strongly condemned all forms of persecution on the basis of religion or belief, irrespective of where they occur or who the victims are.

Ireland consistently supports the EU-led resolutions on freedom of religion or belief at the UN, most recently at the current UN General Assembly in November 2017 and during the 34th session of the Human Rights Council in March 2017. The EU is a strong supporter of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council.

During the Irish Presidency of the EU in 2013, Ireland played a key role in the development and adoption of the EU Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief. The Guidelines provide a framework for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief in the EU’s external human rights policy and reaffirm the EU’s determination to promote freedom of religion or belief as a right to be exercised by everyone everywhere.

In 2015 Ireland secured the inclusion of a reference to the promotion of freedom of religion or belief in the EU Action Plan for Human Rights and Democracy 2015-2019. In May 2016, on the basis of a European Parliament resolution, the EU established the role of Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion and belief outside the EU. The mandate aims to address the growing restrictions on religious freedom internationally. In May 2017, the Commission extended the mandate of the special envoy for an additional year.

The human rights situation in Myanmar has received increased attention in multilateral for a in recent months following the most recent outbreak of violence in Rakhine State, which has led to credible allegations of human rights abuses by the Myanmar security forces.

The EU has led an annual resolution on the human rights situation in Myanmar at Human Rights Council, most recently in March 2017, which provides a basis for the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Ms. Yanghee Lee, who regularly reports to the Council. This year’s resolution led to the establishment of a UN Fact Finding Mission to carry out an investigation into alleged human rights violations by the security forces in Rakhine State.

The current situation in Rakhine State was also the subject of a Presidential Statement by the UN Security Council on 6 November, while the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the situation in Myanmar [on 14 November] which was co-sponsored by Ireland and which raised concerns about the recent allegations of human rights abuses.

In addition to engaging in multilateral fora, the EU, including Ireland, is active in raising our concerns about the human rights situation in Myanmar in bilateral contacts with Myanmar. The upcoming ASEM Foreign Ministers Meeting on 20-21 November in Nay Pyi Taw presents a further opportunity in this context.

An EU-Myanmar Human Rights Dialogue also takes place on a regular basis, and is expected to next take place in early 2018.