Ruairí Quinn
Question:42 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Egypt and his meeting with representatives of the Arab League. [14565/04]
View answerWednesday, 19 May 2004
Questions (64, 65)
Written answers
Following the postponement of the Arab League Summit scheduled for 22 March, I travelled to Cairo, where I met the Secretary General of the Arab League, Mr Amre Moussa and with the President of Egypt, Mr Hosni Mubarak, in order to offer the support of the Presidency to their efforts to ensure that the summit was reconvened at an early date. I am very pleased to be able to inform the House that the summit is now expected to be reconvened this coming weekend and I hope to participate in it.
In addition to my discussions with President Mubarak and Mr. Moussa on the reconvening of the summit, we also exchanged views on a number of important issues affecting the region, including the Israel-Palestine conflict, the situation in Iraq, and the EU's proposed strategic partnership for the Mediterranean and Middle East.
Question No. 43 answered with QuestionNo. 17.
Question No. 44 answered with QuestionNo. 11.
Breeda Moynihan-Cronin
Question:45 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on his recent visit to Rwanda and his address to mark the tenth anniversary of the genocide in that country. [14559/04]
View answerI was very honoured to represent the European Union, and to demonstrate its full solidarity with the Rwandan people, at the commemoration ceremonies to mark the tenth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda which took place in Kigali on 7 April 2004. The ceremonies themselves and the dignity of the Rwandan people, including survivors of the genocide, who attended were deeply moving, as well as providing testimony of the impressive progress which Rwanda has made in recovering from the horrific and traumatic events of ten years ago.
In my address at the commemoration ceremonies, I emphasised that the international community must learn from the mistakes which were made both before and during the 1994 genocide. The European Union has been working hard to take on board the lessons deriving from Rwanda's experience, through improving its capacities to react quickly to crisis situations and focusing more on conflict prevention as a goal in our foreign policy. I also made clear the EU's support for the proposals of the UN Secretary General for a stronger UN role in the effective prevention of genocide.
The challenge of how to prevent such atrocities as the 1994 genocide recurring will continue to be a major preoccupation for the European Union and its common foreign and security policies as we go forward. The reality is also, as I stated in Kigali, that if we really want to avoid a repetition of the horrors of 1994, then Africa must occupy a higher priority in the international agenda and this is precisely why we have accorded such priority to African issues during our Presidency.
During my visit to Kigali, I also had the opportunity to meet with Foreign Minister Murigande of Rwanda. We discussed a range of issues, including developments within Rwanda and in the Great Lakes region as a whole. I commended Rwanda for the leading and constructive role which it has played in relation to the proposed international conference on the Great Lakes region. I also emphasised the EU's desire to deepen its political dialogue with the Rwandan government within the framework of the Cotonou Agreement, particularly on issues such as democracy and human rights which can contribute greatly to the promotion of national reconciliation within Rwanda.