Vol. 565 No. 1
188 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which he has intervened or proposes to intervene through UN or EU agencies to combat human rights abuses at various locations in Africa or elsewhere; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10276/03]
Human rights are, and have always been, a priority of successive Governments and central to our foreign policy. Together with our EU partners, the Government monitors human rights in many countries in Africa and the rest of the world, on the basis of information obtained from a variety of sources including non-governmental organisations. Where the situation warrants, we make known our concerns about human rights violations to the governments in question, either directly or through action at the UN General Assembly and the UN Commission on Human Rights. At these bodies, the EU regularly makes statements on human rights in a number of countries from all regions. Ireland is fully associated with these statements. The EU also introduces or supports resolutions dealing with specific countries.
