Pat Breen
Question:74 Mr. P. Breen asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if Japan made representations to the European Union regarding the activities of the North Korean regime. [9940/03]
Written Answers. - Foreign Conflicts.
Denis Naughten
Question:89 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the action the GAERC Council is taking on the potential crisis on the Korean Peninsula. [9937/03]
John Gormley
Question:93 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the Government's views on the proposal for direct bilateral talks between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the United States in order to deal with the security crisis on the peninsula and to gain access for international inspectors to verify that the DPRK has no nuclear weapons. [10120/03]
John Gormley
Question:111 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if it is the Government's intention to establish full diplomatic relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea; and if not, the reasons therefor. [10119/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 74, 89, 93 and 111 together.
The Government views with concern the actions of North Korea throughout the current crisis, which began in October 2002. On 10 January, I issued a statement noting with great regret North Korea's announcement that it was withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
In view of both the gravity of the situation, and the very serious potential consequences for the wider international community of the continued refusal by North Korea to fulfil its nuclear non-proliferation obligations, the Government does not consider that this matter is solely a bilateral issue with the United States, as characterised by the Pyongyang Government. On the contrary, we regard it as a matter which affects the international community, and thus one which demands a comprehensive, multilateral solution. In this regard, I warmly welcome the fact that the United Nations Security Council is scheduled to discuss the issue today.
In January 2003, the European Union General Affairs and External Relations Council agreed in principle to send a high-level EU delegation to Pyongyang, but as a result of difficulties relating to the level at which the delegation would be received, and conditions laid down by the North Koreans, the delegation has effectively been prevented going to Pyongyang. However, the External Relations Council remains actively seized of the matter and Members of the Council and the High Representative are in regular consultation with countries in the region, including Japan, the Republic of Korea and China, on how this matter might be peacefully taken forward. Beyond these ongoing contacts, I am not aware of representations by Japan to the EU regarding the activities of the North Korean regime.
Ireland does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea. At the present time, I would not foresee such relations being established until North Korea engages in a meaningful way with the international community.
Olwyn Enright
Question:75 Ms Enright asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the European Union General Affairs and External Relations Council has recently considered the cases of 17,000 disappeared in Bosnia-Herzegovina, many of whom were last seen in the hands of the military. [9934/03]
In view of the central role of the European Union in the promotion of peace, stability and prosperity in the western Balkans, the situation in the region is a permanent item on agenda for the monthly meetings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council. Developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the encouragement of the difficult reform process in the country, are discussed regularly at meetings of the Council. At our next meeting, on 14-15 April 2003, the Council will review the Commission's second annual report on the stabilisation and association process for the western Balkans. The report on Bosnia and Herzegovina notes that, seven years after the end of the conflict, thousands of human rights abuses, including disappearances, remain to be fully investigated, punished or redressed. It is essential for the future stability of Bosnia that the tragedy of missing victims of the conflict be addressed fully, and that those responsible for human rights abuses are brought to account. In this context, the Council continues to emphasise the need for improved levels of co-operation by all states and parties in the region with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
It is estimated that there could be as many as 40,000 people still missing throughout the area of the former Yugoslavia as a result of the conflicts. The signatories of the Dayton Peace Agreement in 1996 committed themselves to co-operating with the International Committee of the Red Cross in trying to establish the fate of missing persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the period January 1995 to February 2001, tracing requests were received from the families of 20,527 missing persons, and in February this year the ICRC reported that over 16,000 people remained unaccounted for. The ICRC is continuing to co-ordinate action to establish the fate of these people, in co-operation with the European Union and the wider international community and the Bosnian authorities. A key organisation in this effort is the International Commission for Missing Persons, ICMP, which was established by the G-7 Summit in 1996 and continues to operate throughout the areas affected by the conflicts in the 1990s. It works in co-operation with the governments of the region and with civil society, notably family associations. It has established a forensic science programme, which has pioneered systems of large-scale DNA matching. Ireland fully supports the work of the ICMP and in 2002 contributed €120,000 to its programmes throughout the western Balkans.