Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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17. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the details of his engagements with the government of Togo and its embassy regarding a number of human rights abuses; and whether consular assistance is being offered to a number of individuals affected, including an Irish citizen (details supplied). [68013/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that officials in my Department and the relevant Irish Embassy are aware of this case and are providing consular assistance to the Irish citizen involved.

As with all consular cases, a dedicated consular officer has been assigned to a family member of the citizen. The consular officer has provided support and advice to the family in accordance with the Department’s Consular Assistance Charter.

I can further confirm that officials in the Embassy of Ireland, Abuja, are in regular engagement with the relevant authorities in Togo, as well as European Union colleagues, as part of efforts to assist the citizen.

I wish to assure the Deputy that officials in my Department, including in the Embassy of Ireland, Abuja, will continue to provide all appropriate consular assistance to the citizen.

In addition, Ireland has raised our concerns about the detention of the Irish citizen at both senior official level and directly with Togolese Ministers.

The Government is concerned about the current human rights situation in Togo, in particular in relation to freedoms of expression, freedom of association and the right to peaceful assembly, as well as the arbitrary detention of human rights defenders.

During Togo’s Universal Periodic Review in January 2022, at the UN Human Rights Council, Ireland expressed concerns about the restrictions on freedom of expression and the excessive use of force against protestors in Togo, as well as reports of assault, arbitrary detention and torture of political opponents and human rights defenders. We urged Togo to release human rights defenders who have been arbitrarily detained without trial and to investigate allegations of torture, which I continue to reiterate.