John Gormley
Question:100 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of men and women executed for adultery in Saudi Arabia from 1990 to date in 1998. [7475/98]
Written Answers. - Human Rights Abuses.
The information which the Deputy has requested is not available as Saudi Arabia does not produce statistics on such matters.
As the Deputy is aware, the Saudi Arabian legal system is based on the Sharia, which completely governs the individual and the social life of the believer. While it is not the practice to comment on the judicial system of another state, I would, however, refer to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to the declaration and programme of action adopted by consensus at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993. There is a requirement on states to ensure all judicial actions are in conformity with international human rights norms.
John Gormley
Question:101 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the representations, if any, his Department has made in relation to the rights of Kurdish language speakers in Turkey. [7477/98]
In various contacts at official level between the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Turkish authorities the whole issue of human rights in Turkey, particularly as they affect the Kurdish population of south-east Turkey, has been raised. In these contacts we have made clear our own concern and that of our EU partners that the Turkish Government should seek to find a political solution to the Kurdish issue which would encompass the entire spectrum of civil and social rights, including the cultural right to use the Kurdish language.
While recognising the territorial integrity of Turkey, Ireland and our EU partners have consistently made clear to the Turkish authorities that the fight against terrorism must be conducted with full respect for the human rights and basic freedoms of the Kurdish population of south-east Turkey.