Written answers
Thursday, 9 September 2021
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Human Rights
Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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456. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the steps the Government has taken through its role on the UN Security Council and by other means to address the high volume of violence against Christians in Nigeria in 2021 given that an organisation (details supplied) has reported that 3,462 Christians have been hacked to death since 1 January 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42643/21]
Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I am deeply concerned by the ongoing violence in Nigeria. Conflict poses a serious challenge to that country’s stability, and impact on the wider region.
The particular acts of violence referred to are between nomadic herders and settled farmers. While in Nigeria the vast majority of herders are Muslim and many of the farmers are Christian, conflict arises from differences of perspective regarding access to land. This is exacerbated by climate change and by rapid population growth in Africa's most populous country, which has increased strain on resources.
Resource conflict such as that between herders and farmers also complicates the ongoing efforts by the Nigerian authorities to contain the violence perpetrated by Boko Haram in Nigeria and the wider region. Ireland supports international efforts to reduce its influence and to strengthen the protection of civilians.
The Embassy of Ireland in Abuja actively monitors developments in Nigeria and advocates for the protection of human rights, including the free expression of thought, conscience and religion. Through the Irish Aid programme, Ireland provides humanitarian support those affected by conflict in Nigeria and the wider region. Ireland also provides funding to the Institute for Integrated Transitions, an NGO working in Nigeria, which has assisted in the establishment of an inter-ethnic and inter-religious committee on long term solutions to ethnic, religious, and resource based violence, including conflict between sedentary farmers and nomadic herders.
Ireland, bilaterally and as a Member State of the EU, works with the Nigerian authorities and with UN partners to promote peace and security in areas affected by armed groups and insecurity, including as an elected member of the UN Security Council.
As co-penholder on the Security Council file on the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), together with Niger, Ireland’s key priority is to support and facilitate UNOWAS in its work on conflict prevention and peacebuilding in West Africa and the Sahel, and promoting democracy and human rights in the region. In its most recent Presidential Statement on this matter, on 17 August 2021, the Security Council strongly condemned continued attacks against civilians in the region, and expressed the need for accountability for human rights violations and abuses. The Council also recognised the adverse effects of climate change on security and stability in the region, and the need for long-term strategies to support stabilisation and build resilience.
The Embassy of Ireland in Abuja continues to closely follow developments in Nigeria in cooperation with government authorities, civil society organisations, and our EU and UN partners. The Department of Foreign Affairs is committed to continuing to provide much needed support to strengthening peace and security in the region.
Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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457. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the actions the Government is taking in relation to human rights in North Korea given that Ireland is chairing the UN Security Council; if Ireland will call for the implementation of the recommendation from the 2014 UN Human Rights Council’s report of the commission of inquiry on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (details supplied) that the UN Security Council should refer to the situation to the International Criminal Court; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42644/21]
Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Ireland has consistently raised the human rights situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), both in the UN and through other international fora. In March 2021, Ireland made a national statement at the Human Rights Council, during an Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the DPRK, to raise serious concerns about human rights violations in the country.
Ireland urged the DPRK Government to take immediate steps to halt all human rights violations, to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur’s mandate and to fully implement the human rights treaties to which they are party.
Ireland is fully aware of the recommendation regarding a possible referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC). We recently co-sponsored a resolution at the Human Rights Council welcoming General Assembly resolution 75/190, which encourages the Security Council to continue consideration of a referral and also condemns in the strongest terms the gross human rights violations committed by the DPRK.
In February, Ireland signed a joint letter to the President of the UN Security Council, requesting that the agenda item, ‘The situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’ remain on the list of items of which the Council is seized. This provides a possibility to discuss the DPRK, including human rights issues, at Security Council level. Ireland joined others in repeating this request at a meeting of the Security Council on 25 August.
Ireland has consistently called on the DPRK to allow humanitarian access to address assistance needs, both at the Council and 1718 (DPRK) Sanctions Committee levels. Equally, Ireland has supported ongoing expedited humanitarian exemptions by the Committee.
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