Dinny McGinley
Question:56 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has raised with China, concerns regarding the death penalty, as raised by Amnesty International. [26500/02]
Written Answers. - Human Rights Abuses.
The Government is adamantly opposed to the use of the death penalty and accordingly seeks its universal abolition. We believe that its abolition contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and the progressive development of human rights. The Deputy will be aware of the efforts we have made in conjunction with our EU partners and in accordance with the common EU guidelines on the issue of the death penalty to seek its universal abolition. The EU has pressed for abolition and has also issued démarches on the use of the death penalty in a number of countries, including China.
The EU guidelines adopted in 1998 set out clearly the common EU position on the use of the death penalty. These guidelines now form the basis for Ireland's concerted interventions, along with other EU member states, in death penalty issues. The Government is strongly of the view that an EU intervention carries significantly greater force than individual bilateral interventions by national Governments.
The guidelines state, that where the death penalty still exists, the EU will continue to press for its use to be progressively restricted and for moratoria to be introduced. In addition to interventions on the use of the death penalty in principle, it has also been agreed that, where the facts of individual cases suggest a violation of basic minimum standards under international law, the Union will consider making a specific intervention.
The EU discusses key human rights concerns with China in the framework of the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue, which provides a forum for an in-depth discussion of human rights in China. The dialogue has included an exchange of views on a wide range of human rights concerns, including the death penalty.
The formal human rights dialogues are complemented by biannual human rights seminars in which representatives from academia, the Judiciary and other experts from the EU and China participate. A seminar was held on 11 and 12 May 2001 in Beijing, specifically on the death penalty. The most recent seminar took place on 17 and 18 October in Copenhagen, during which the European Commission outlined the priorities for the dialogue, one of the most important being the abolition of the death penalty.
At the fifth EU-China Summit, which was held in Copenhagen on 24 September, both sides agreed to continue their dialogue on human rights and reconfirmed their commitment to work towards achieving meaningful results. Furthermore, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to respect international human rights standards and to co-operate fully with UN human rights mechanisms.
The Irish Government uses every opportunity to seek the abolition of the death penalty and further the issue of human rights. During his meeting with Premier Zhu Rhongji in September 2001, the Taoiseach discussed human rights both in a private meeting and in the plenary meeting of the delegations. During my visit to China in January, I held discussions with Premier Zhu and Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan on a range of human rights issues and concerns.
We will continue to engage in the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue with the Chinese authorities and continue to promote the abolition of the death penalty. Internationally, we will continue our efforts to seek its universal abolition.