Vol. 439 No. 6
52 Mr. Gilmore asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the recent Amnesty International report on Northern Ireland; in view of the international prestige of Amnesty International, if he will urge the organisation to make an unconditional call for a halt to all violence by the paramilitary organisations; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Amnesty International report entitled Political Killings in Northern Ireland addresses a number of important questions of serious and continuing concern to the Government, which have been the subject of discussions with the British Government through the framework of the Anglo-Irish Conference. For example, the question of the use of lethal force by the security forces was discussed at the most recent meeting of the conference on 28 January.
Amnesty International states in its report that it opposes human rights abuses carried out by armed political groups. The Government's view remains that all violent activities by Republican and Loyalist paramilitaries against whomsoever directed are totally unacceptable. The Government will continue to keep the matters addressed by the Amnesty International report under close review.
