Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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62. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts being made at national, EU and international level regarding the concerns of the detention of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36487/18]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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63. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views regarding human rights in Bahrain; the steps that have been taken to address same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36488/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 62 and 63 together.

I am aware of the case referred to by Deputy Collins, and of the reports that the individual in question has been denied adequate healthcare in prison. Ireland attaches great importance to safeguarding the human rights of all prisoners with due regard for the international standards enshrined in the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

I remain very concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation in Bahrain. Statements from the Bahraini Government on its commitment to safeguarding human rights enshrined in the Bahraini Constitution are undermined by ongoing instances of violations of fundamental freedoms, including violations of freedom of opinion and expression. A number of worrying developments suggest an increasingly restrictive approach, targeting those who express disagreement with or criticism of the Government. The shrinking of civil and political space is especially concerning in light of parliamentary elections which are due to take place in November this year.

Ireland’s concerns about human rights issues in Bahrain are regularly conveyed to the Bahraini authorities, including through the Bahraini Embassy in London and through Ireland’s (non-resident) Ambassador to Bahrain. In February of this year, officials from my Department met with the Ambassador of Bahrain in Dublin, and raised Ireland’s concerns about the human rights situation in Bahrain, including the case referred to by the Deputy.

Ireland also regularly raises the case of human rights in Bahrain at the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva, in the form of national statements and its support to EU Statements. In Ireland’s Item 4 Statement (human rights situations that require the Council’s attention) at the HRC session in June 2018, we called on Bahrain to “maintain its commitments to respect freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and the right to fair trial.” Ireland also supported the references made to Bahrain in the EU Item 2 Statement (on the reports of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights) which highlighted the deterioration of the human rights situation, with particular reference to the shrinking of political space in Bahrain.

My Department will continue to monitor the situation in Bahrain, and will continue to call on the Bahraini Government to make good on their stated commitment to make progress in the area of human rights.