The Government continue to be extremely concerned about the need to expedite a return to full democratic rule and full observance of human rights in Nigeria. As I stated in my previous reply of 30 May, there are some signs that Nigeria may be beginning to respond to the pressure being exercised by the EU and other members of the international community in furtherance of these objectives. At that time, I reported that the Nigerian authorities had, in a letter to the UN Secretary General, undertaken to carry out a number of reforms. These include the exclusion of military personnel from special courts; the establishment of an appeals mechanism; a review of the cases of all those held without trial under government decree of 1984 and the restoration of habeas corpus. I also confirmed that the Government will continue to monitor these and other developments closely to evaluate the real progress being made.
An important recent development was a meeting which took place in London between the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group and the Nigerian Government in London on 24-25 June. On that occasion, the Commonwealth again raised the situation relating to human rights and the rule of law in Nigeria. In reply, the Nigerian authorities reiterated their determination to implement democratic transition. They informed the meeting of developments relating to human rights and rule of law which have taken place since the visit of the UN Fact-Finding Mission to their country in March-April 1996. The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group therefore agreed at the meeting to hold in reserve the restrictive measures it had prepared for implementation against Nigeria last April. It will convene again in September to review the actual progress being made towards meeting its concerns in Nigeria.
In order to help ensure the implementation of the promised reforms and other measures, Ireland has strongly supported the renewal of the EU Common Position on Nigeria in June. This has maintained existing EU measures against Nigeria for a further six months during which progress on the ground will continue to be kept under close review.
The Government have been unequivocal in support for further measures aimed at promoting meaningful reform in Nigeria. We also recognised that to be effective such measures, and those which have been suggested by the inter-action group to which the Deputy has referred, will need widespread international support. We therefore support ongoing EU consultation with like-minded states and organisations such as the United States and the Commonwealth, on the adoption of these and other appropriate measures.
