Vol. 468 No. 2
30 Mr. R. Burke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the international human rights bodies to which it is proposed to nominate Irish expert candidates in the current calendar year, as suggested in the White Paper on Foreign Policy. [14716/96]
Chapter 8.70 of the White Paper on Foreign Policy states that the Human Rights Unit of my Department "will recommend to the Government, as appropriate, the nomination of Irish expert candidates for election to international human rights bodies".
The human rights bodies within the United Nations system have a number of committees and working groups to which expert candidates are periodically elected. There is an election to be held in September 1996 to the human rights committee under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It was decided not to nominate an Irish candidate for this election. I am not aware of any other vacancies before the end of 1996 to which Irish candidates could be nominated. My Department has submitted candidates to positions on committees in recent years and will continue to do so in the future. The human rights unit will keep under review the vacancies which will arise in human rights bodies in the United Nations system, the Council of Europe etc., with a view to proposing suitably qualified Irish expert candidates.
