asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware of an Amnesty International Report alleging torture of political detainees in Singapore and whether the Government intend to make any representations or take any action in the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Amnesty International Report.
15.
The Government are aware of the report published earlier this year by Amnesty International which alleged that torture has been used against political prisoners in Singapore. The Government have also noted that the Government of Singapore are reported to have rejected, in a statement on 31 March, the allegations of physical ill-treatment contained in that report.
In the joint statement issued on 6 March by the Foreign Ministers of the EC countries, including Ireland, and of the Association of South-East Asian Nations, which comprises Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, the Foreign Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to world peace, international co-operation and understanding, economic development, social justice and human rights.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Government have consistently condemned the violation of human rights wherever they may occur. I can assure the Deputy that Ireland will continue to actively promote the protection of human rights, particularly in regard to torture of persons in custody, by all available means and particularly in international fora such as the United Nations General Assembly.
There is another one of them.
Again, it being a Crown colony, surely there should be some response here to representations? Could I ask the Minister is it the situation that at international level we are totally ineffective in raising our voice against these types of violation or alleged violation?
The situation is not at all good at international level throughout the world—that is a fact of life—and there is very little that we can do about it and that is again a fact of life. Let us start learning something about the facts of life as they exist in a very bad world.
Through the Chair, accepting that it is a big, bad world——
It was never worse, if I may say so.
The Deputy should ask a supplementary question.
——could the Minister see a role that might be played by a small nation such as ours, where we could take some initiative and try to gain the support of many more of the small nations of the world similarly minded, to get something positive done about it?
There is no small country which has been as active as ours in world organisations such as the United Nations and within the Community, but particularly the United Nations. No small country has been anything like as active as we have been in promoting human rights, in seeking to back the United Nations wherever they have stepped in to prevent minor wars breaking out, or more important, to prevent greater wars breaking out. We have played our part very fully and, indeed, some of our people, including our honourable soldiers, have suffered by reason of it. There is no way in which we can be indicated in that respect.
I am not trying to indict the Minister.
We have played more than a full role in that whole area.
Whilst I agree fully with the Minister that his Government and previous Governments have played more than a full part in regard to the establishment of human rights or, indeed, in regard to complaining about the denial of human rights in all parts of the world, I should like to know whether the Minister is getting this support from other countries in these two institutions, the EEC and the UN, in directing the spotlight on the denial of human rights in our own country, particularly in the north-east of the country and in H Block of Long Kesh?
That is a separate question, Deputy. That is a matter which has already been taken up by the Taoiseach and by me with Mr. Atkins and which will be part of a whole discussion between the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister——
This does not arise on this question.
——in a few weeks' time.
In view of the resolutions now before the EEC, the Parliament and in committee and in view of the fact that the support of the members of the various parties, and particularly the Government party, might be given to these resolutions looking for a cessation of the denial of human rights in the north-east of the country——
This question refers only to Singapore.
I understand that this can best be dealt with by intergovernmental discussions. Candidly, I do not regard a resolution passed in the European Parliament—while helpful in its own way—as being really germane to dealing with the matter as a governmental discussion.
I know the Minister is not doing much about it. He has said that much.
A final supplementary on Question No. 15.
Arising from the Minister's reply in relation to the effective leverage that this country has, and specifically in relation to the Amnesty Report, as I was not clear about his reply, would he indicate (a) if the Government have received a copy of the Amnesty International Report and (b) if it is proposed to take any precise action and, if so, would he detail what action is proposed?
We have received the report all right. Our ambassador in the area is aware of the situation and it will be borne in mind in regard to his contacts with authorities in Singapore.
I want to ask——
We have spent a lot of time on this question.
Despite the fact that we have this international leverage, the Government propose simply to note the report and do nothing, even though we could at least do something.
The Deputy is now making a statement.
I am asking a question.
The Deputy can be assured that in all these cases of violations of human rights, if one were to start following them all up, one would be following up on practically 80 per cent of the regimes that exist in this world today and we, and I repeat myself here, in this country are very much in the minority.
The Minister has said that he is doing nothing about the Italian Presidency or about these questions——
We cannot go around sticking our noses into everybody's affairs.
The Minister is not sticking his nose into anybody's affairs.
Minister, I call Question No. 16.
We do it where it is needed and where we can do something practical about the situation.
The Minister has effectively already told us that in these two instances he has done nothing.
I want to ask the Minister will he cease worrying about the other 80 per cent and do something about the 1 per cent that we have in the northeast?