Written Answers Nos. 1-14
10. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions he has had with EU Foreign Ministers regarding Mali; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8933/13]
View answerMali has been the subject of ongoing discussion by EU Foreign Ministers since March 2012 when there was an army coup and armed groups seized control of the north of the country. The issue was discussed most recently at the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday, attended by the Tánaiste. At that meeting the Council adopted comprehensive Conclusions which reaffirm the EU’s support for international efforts to support stabilisation in Mali and to counter the threat of terrorism.
Recognising that the issues in Mali cannot be addressed by military means alone, the Council also emphasised the importance of progress on the political track and especially the implementation of the transition roadmap which has been agreed by the Malian Government and Parliament. EU Ministers have underlined in particular the preparations for free and fair elections scheduled to take place before the end of July, and the establishment of a National Commission for Dialogue and Reconciliation in Mali.
The Council stressed the importance of international coordination on Mali and welcomed the outcomes of the meeting of the Support and Follow-Up Group which took place in Brussels on 5 February, and which I attended.
Following on from the important discussion on the resumption of development assistance to Mali which I chaired as part of the informal meeting of EU Development Ministers in Dublin on 12 February, the Council welcomed the gradual resumption of EU development aid, linked to implementation of the transition roadmap.
I am particularly concerned at the impact of the crisis on the civilian population of Mali, and am pleased to note that this issue was addressed by the Council on Monday, with particular emphasis on the plight of refugees and displaced persons. The Council also addressed reports of human rights violations in Mali. It is an important development that the EU has committed support for the deployment of human rights monitors in the country.
In its discussions on Mali, the Council reviewed progress on the deployment of the EU Training Mission in Mali. Active consideration is being given to the deployment of a small number of Irish Defence Forces personnel as trainers and Headquarters staff with that Mission and the Minister for Defence has indicated that he will be bringing a proposal on this to Government shortly. Ministers also reaffirmed the EU’s support for the efforts of the African Union and the regional authorities to put in place the African-led force.
In 2012, Ireland provided funding of €9.25 million for emergency food, water and healthcare to communities affected by the crisis across the Sahel region. Some €1,100,000 of this funding is currently supporting Christian Aid, Oxfam and Trócaire to provide life-saving assistance to vulnerable communities in Mali, through emergency food aid, as well as water and sanitation services.
11. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans regarding NATO membership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8960/13]
View answer52. Deputy John Halligan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his plans regarding to NATO membership; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8961/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 52 together.
The Secretary General of NATO, Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, visited Dublin on the 12th and 13th of February. He did so at the invitation of the High Representative and Minister Shatter to participate in the informal meeting of EU Defence Ministers which was held at Dublin Castle.
It is customary practice that the EU invites NATO to participate in the informal meeting of the Defence Ministers which is hosted by the rotating Presidency once every six months. On this occasion a decision was also taken to invite the UN to participate in the meeting. This was the first time that an invitation has been extended to the UN to attend an EU Ministerial meeting.
During his visit the Mr. Rasmussen expressed his appreciation for the cooperation NATO has had with Ireland since we joined the Partnership for Peace in 1999. He paid tribute to the contribution Ireland has made to UN-led peacekeeping missions and to UN-mandated missions which are led by regional organisations such as NATO and the EU.
As the Deputy has stated the Secretary General was reported as saying that NATO would welcome any application by Ireland. It should also be noted that Mr. Rasmussen was also quoted as stating that it is a matter for countries to decide how they wish to develop their relationship and partnership with NATO.
In relation to Ireland’s relationship with NATO, I can confirm that this Government does not intend to join NATO. Our cooperation with NATO will continue to be conducted through the Partnership for Peace, a partnership which the Secretary General also stated in the publication referred to by the Deputy is, “a partnership that fully respects Ireland’s policy of neutrality”.
12. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to a person (details supplied) who travelled here last summer to have his eye replaced in Temple Street Children’s Hospital, Dublin after a tear gas canister hit him in the face and destroyed his left eye, and who was sentenced on 28 January 2013, to six months in prison in Bahrain on charges of illegal gathering; and if he will raise concerns over his incarceration with the Bahraini Administration. [8842/13]
View answerI am aware of the case to which the Deputy refers. According to reports received by my Department, Mohamed Al Jaziri was participating in a funeral procession which clashed with security forces in Sitra, Bahrain in early 2012. He was shot in the eye by a teargas canister and lost complete sight in his left eye. He received further treatment to save the sight in his right eye in Ireland with the assistance of the Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti Violence Organisation, or BRAVO. Ireland’s Embassy in Abu Dhabi assisted in issuing a visa to enable him to travel to Ireland for the operation. Mr. Al Jaziri has now been sentenced to six months imprisonment on charges relating to the clashes. Concerns have been expressed by BRAVO that he could be denied access to adequate medical care during his sentence and that he was denied access to a lawyer during his interrogation.
I remain very concerned about the overall political and human rights situation in Bahrain. I have repeatedly called on the Bahraini Government to demonstrate its commitment to upholding human rights and to implement in full the recommendations of the Bahraini International Commission of Inquiry. The Commission has made specific recommendations which set out the way forward for Bahrain in terms of commitments in the areas of political dialogue, rule of law, human rights, and refraining from excessive violence. I am particularly concerned that the Bahrain authorities ensure that fundamental rights in relation to freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly and association, are fully respected.
At the same time, I welcome the fact that there has been some progress in relation to political dialogue with the main opposition party agreeing to meet with the Bahraini government and initiate a process of national dialogue which has just commenced in the past week. It is important that both sides engage constructively in this dialogue, with a view to furthering reconciliation and reform within Bahrain.
I have conveyed our concerns on human rights issues at every suitable opportunity with the Bahraini authorities and will continue to do so. They have also been raised directly with the Bahraini Ambassador in London, and through our Ambassador in Riyadh, who is accredited to Bahrain.
13. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there has been informal or formal discussions with the new Libyan Government about its transition to democracy and formalising diplomatic relations. [8855/13]
View answerIreland is actively seeking to strengthen its bilateral relations with the new Libyan Government led by Prime Minister Zidan. Ireland is ready to provide any assistance possible to the new administration, the first democratically elected Government to take office in Libya. We would like to increase levels of bilateral cooperation across a range of areas, including in the economic and trade area. Considerable assistance is already being offered to Libya in relation to the medical treatment of patients injured in the 2011 conflict; a very successful programme has been in operation now for over a year.
I had a productive meeting with the Foreign Minister of Libya, Aaahour Bin Khayal, at the UN General Assembly in September 2012. During the meeting, I congratulated Libya on the conduct of a successful election campaign and its transition to democracy. I commended the Libyan Government on the stance they had taken following the appalling attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi. I also stated that we looked forward to further strengthening relations between Ireland and Libya, particularly trade relations.
More recently, my colleague, the Minister of State for Trade and Development, Mr Joe Costello, T.D., met with the Libyan Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. Al Siddique Abdul Karim, on the margins of the UN pledging conference for Syria, which was held in Kuwait on 30 January. The Deputy Prime Minister confirmed Libya’s strong interest in developing bilateral relations and in an exchange of political-level visits in order to take forward cooperation in a number of areas.
Ireland’s Ambassador to Libya, who is accredited from Rome, visits Libya regularly, most recently in December 2012. During that visit he met with a number of Libyan Government representatives, including the Minister for Health and deputy Ministers for Higher Education and Agriculture.
In the longer term, Ireland would welcome the opening of a Libyan Embassy in Dublin, and this has been conveyed to the new Libyan administration. In the meantime, the Libyan Embassy in London continues to represent Libya’s interests in Ireland and we are looking forward to a new Ambassador being formally accredited from there shortly.
14. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the outcome of the recent EU Development Ministers' meeting in Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8930/13]
View answer32. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide a detailed report of the recent informal meeting of EU Development Ministers in Dublin; and if a unified EU approach to the development of a new set of international targets for human development post-2015 was reached. [8848/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 32 together.
I chaired the informal Meeting of EU Development Ministers in Dublin Castle on 11 and 12 February. The meeting provided the first opportunity for a substantive discussion by Ministers on the shape of the framework for international development after 2015, the target date for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Significantly, three European Commissioners participated - Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva and Environment Commissioner Janez Potonik - as well as representatives from the European Parliament.
There was unanimity among the Member States on the need for a unified approach by the EU to the forthcoming international negotiations on a new framework for international development. It was agreed that this must encompass the experience of delivering on the MDGs in the fight against global poverty and hunger since 2000 and the decision of last year’s Rio Summit on Sustainable Development to begin a process to agree a set of Sustainable Development Goals. There was broad agreement on the need to continue to focus on the challenge of eliminating extreme poverty.
Ministers also discussed the promotion of a comprehensive approach to complex environments such as the Horn of Africa. They discussed ideas for a more joined-up approach to building the resilience of communities in the face of natural and man-made disasters, and linking EU policies and actions on the provision of emergency humanitarian relief and long term development.
We discussed options for future development cooperation in Mali and the possibility of resuming long-term development funding, which was suspended in the wake of last year’s coup. Commissioner Piebalgs emphasised the importance of beginning a phased reinstatement of development aid in order to respond to the urgent needs of the Malian people.
Finally, we reviewed Official Development Assistance targets and the political agreement reached at the European Council on the EU’s new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). The outcome of the MFF negotiations, which includes an increase in funding for international development, ensures that the EU, collectively, will remain the largest provider of overseas assistance globally. As EU Council Presidency, Ireland will now take forward negotiations with the European Parliament on the finalisation of the MFF.
I have received very positive feedback from Ministers and Commissioners on the outcome and organisation of the informal meeting. I am satisfied in particular that it has begun a process which enable the EU to demonstrate a strong unified position at the Special Event on the MDGs, to be held at the United Nations in New York this September, and in the subsequent international negotiations on the new global development framework.
