Written answers
Thursday, 23 September 2021
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Human Rights
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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249. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the actions his Department is taking to address the recent re-arrests of Christians in Eritrea (details supplied) who were previously imprisoned in violation of their right to freedom of religion and belief; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45815/21]
Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I am deeply concerned by the imprisonment of Christians in Eritrea on the basis of their religious belief.
The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (more commonly referred to as freedom of religion and belief) is regarded as a fundamental freedom, provided for under Article 18 of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. Ireland strongly condemns all forms of persecution on the basis of religion or belief, irrespective of where they occur or who the victims are.
The promotion of freedom of religion or belief is therefore a priority for Ireland’s human rights engagement at both multilateral and bilateral levels, as reaffirmed in ‘The Global Island: Ireland’s Foreign Policy for a Changing World’. Ireland consistently co-sponsors resolutions on freedom of religion or belief at the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. During our Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2013, Ireland played a key role in the development and adoption of the EU Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief. These Guidelines provide a framework for the promotion of freedom of religion and belief in the EU’s external human rights policy.
Ireland has consistently expressed concern about the human rights situation in Eritrea, including through our engagement at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Thus far in 2021, Ireland has made two statements on Eritrea at sessions of the Human Rights Council, echoing the call of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea for the Eritrean authorities to cooperate with UN and AU human rights mechanisms to address ongoing human rights violations. Ireland has also contributed to the drafting of EU statements and negotiations on the renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea.
In our interventions at the Council, we have particularly recalled the 2016 findings of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, and its conclusion that crimes against humanity have been committed in Eritrean detention facilities, military training camps and other locations, and noting that there has been minimal progress towards reform. Despite the release of some prisoners who had been detained for their expression of religious belief last year, arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention are common practices, with individuals continuing to be detained in violation of international law.
Ireland has consistently urged Eritrea to comply with its obligations under international law and cooperate with both the Special Rapporteur and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and has repeatedly raised this at EU level.
In March 2021, the EU imposed sanctions on Eritrea’s National Security Agency under the new EU Global Human Rights Sanctions regime, citing responsibility of the Agency for serious human-rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests, extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture by its agents.
Ireland continues to be extremely concerned by the ongoing conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia, now into its tenth month, in which Eritrean troops are participating, and which in recent months has spilled over into neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar. The conflict continues to have a devastating impact on local populations, and poses severe risks to the stability of Ethiopia, and the wider Horn of Africa region. Ireland has called for all parties to the conflict to end hostilities, and for Eritrean troops to withdraw immediately. Addressing the situation in Ethiopia—including the presence of Eritrean troops—remains a key priority for Ireland, whether bilaterally, at the Human Rights Council, through European Union fora, and in the context of our UN Security Council membership.
My officials and Ireland’s Embassies in Nairobi (accredited to Eritrea) and Addis Ababa, continue to monitor the human rights situation in Eritrea and Ethiopia closely, including the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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250. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on whether the attacks on education by Israeli forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are a deliberate attempt to make the teaching and learning environment unsafe for Palestinian children; his further views on whether the educational process has been severely hampered and disrupted as a result of these attacks and that the dignity and security of Palestinian students and teaching staff have been repeatedly and deliberately violated through the systematic targeting and legal discrimination of the occupying power; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45845/21]
Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I remain gravely concerned by the ongoing human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and particularly the impact on children and their education. Ireland has repeatedly emphasised that the rights of children to protection, safety, and well-being must be upheld at all times.
I fully endorse the statement of 9 September 2021 by European Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarcic, on the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, which underlined that attacks on education constitute violations of International Humanitarian Law.
Ireland has been active on this issue in the UN Security Council. In my address to the Council on 16 May, I expressed Ireland’s deep concern at the plight of children in the occupied Palestinian territory. I highlighted the damage to UNRWA buildings, including schools, during military operations in Gaza, and stressed that all violations against children must end, in particular attacks on schools.
Ireland is a strong supporter of education for Palestinian youth, which is crucial for the long-term economic viability of a Palestinian state. Ireland is a longstanding supporter of UNRWA’s delivery of services, including quality education, in the occupied Palestinian territory, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
This year Ireland has provided €7 million in funding to UNRWA, including emergency support for the people in the Gaza Strip in response to the deteriorating humanitarian crisis. I provided €500,000 to UNICEF for the provision of child protection, medical and sanitation services to thousands of children in acute need in the West Bank and in Gaza. This included emergency psycho-social services to 5,000 children suffering trauma as a result of the hostilities.
Ireland also supports the work of the Palestinian Ministry of Education, as well as providing additional operational support to partners in the education sphere.
Irish officials will continue to engage actively on the ground and by supporting Israeli and Palestinian civil society partners who play a critical role on this issue.
Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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251. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the State plans to raise the issue of Syrian detainees who have suffered arbitrary and incommunicado detention and enforced disappearance by Syrian Government forces at the UN Security Council during its Presidency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45848/21]
Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There is considerable evidence, including in the most recent report of the United Nation’s Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, that tens of thousands of people in Syria have been subject to arbitrary detention or forcible disappearance by government forces in Syria.
Ireland and the EU have repeatedly condemned violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law perpetrated by the Syrian regime and other actors, some of which may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity.
Ireland has consistently advocated on behalf of the missing and detained in Syria and their families across various international fora including through co-sponsoring multiple resolutions at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Since taking a seat on the Security Council in January, Ireland has consistently condemned the practice of arbitrary detention and forced disappearance in our statements to Council. We have called for an immediate end to this practice, for the release of detainees, and for accountability for past crimes. We will continue to do so, including during our Presidency of the Council this September.
UN Security Council Resolution 2254 sets the framework for a comprehensive political solution to the Syria conflict, addressing the underlying causes of the conflict and calling for the release of arbitrarily detained persons. Ireland strongly supports UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen and I urge the Syrian government to engage fully with his efforts to find a lasting political solution within the framework set out in Resolution 2254.
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