Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 November 2014
7. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views with regard to the plight of the Rohingya persons in Myanmar, the fact that their human rights are being taken from them through discrimination at all levels of society; and if he will offer support to the Rohingya community here which focuses on bringing change to this unjust treatment. [44977/14]
View answerMy question concerns the Rohingya people in Myanmar, where they suffer a lot of discrimination, and whether there is any support for the small Rohingya community in Ireland.
The Government continues to follow closely the situation of the Rohingya people in Myanmar-Burma. I believe strongly that the underlying root causes of ethnic tensions in Rakhine State between the ethnically distinct Muslim population and the Buddhist population must be addressed as a matter of urgency. I also strongly believe that it is imperative that there should be a guarantee of respect for human rights and the rule of law for all people in Myanmar-Burma.
Ireland is committed to the pursuit of progress on human rights in the area. Towards this end, just last Friday Ireland supported a resolution, which was led by the European Union, on the human rights situation in Myanmar-Burma at the current session of the UN General Assembly Third Committee in New York. The resolution was adopted by consensus at the committee. It is a comprehensive resolution through which the UN General Assembly urges the Government of Myanmar-Burma to accelerate its efforts to address discrimination and human rights violations affecting various ethnic and religious minorities. In particular, by way of this resolution the Government of Myanmar-Burma is urged to address attacks against Muslims and other religious minorities.
The resolution also specifically references the Rohingya community in Myanmar-Burma and calls upon the Government there to allow immediate and unhindered access for humanitarian assistance in Rakhine State, where many Rohingya people are resident. Importantly, there is a call in the resolution for the Rohingya to have equal access to full citizenship so as to ensure that there is no discrimination in respect of fundamental issues which should be guaranteed as part of normal life, such as education, health care and welfare.
This latest resolution builds on the March 2014 EU-led resolution at the UN Human Rights Council, of which Ireland is currently a member, on the situation of human rights in Myanmar-Burma. That Human Rights Council resolution also urged the Government of Myanmar-Burma to step up its efforts to put an end to the human rights violations and abuses in the area.
I thank the Minister. It is clear that the human rights of the Rohingya people are not respected. They have been described as the most persecuted ethnic minority in the world and are referred to by certain Burmese politicians as a virus. There is a long way to go before their human rights are respected. There has been a lot of propaganda and brainwashing of the general public against the Rohingya people. They have been denied citizenship in Myanmar, which means that they are denied certain fundamental rights and cannot access basic services. Their travel is restricted, therefore they cannot do business or pursue education, and their mosques and religious centres have been closed down. As we now have a full accredited ambassador to Myanmar, can he be asked to address this group, visit the area where they live and make the same points made by the Minister with the Myanmar Government?
The Irish Embassy in Vietnam, which is accredited to Myanmar, as the Deputy will be aware, is closely monitoring the situation. In September 2013, the ambassador travelled to Rakhine State to assess the situation. Most recently, the ambassador visited the area on 23 May 2014 and met the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the region. At that meeting he expressed Ireland’s concerns about the situation of the Rohingya people in Rakhine State and the need for unhindered humanitarian access to the region.
At EU level, EU Foreign Ministers, at the Foreign Affairs Council on 12 May 2014, approved the establishment of a formal EU-Myanmar human rights dialogue.
The first dialogue took place in Myanmar on 20 May. During that dialogue, the EU and Myanmar took stock of the current situation of human rights on both sides. They covered major issues of concern for human rights, in particular, the area of political prisoners, freedom of expression, hate speech, economic, social and cultural rights, land rights, business and human rights. The situation in Rakhine state was also discussed. I acknowledge the interest of Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan in this area and I assure her and other Members of the House of an ongoing Government commitment towards assisting in this region.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
Regarding the Rohingya in Myanmar-Burma, Ireland calls for more investment in early recovery and support for livelihood opportunities for both communities in Rakhine state. Economic integration and inter-dependency can be a vehicle for co-operation and peace between the communities. A longer-term Government of Myanmar-Burma strategy for rehabilitation and reconciliation is also required.
In terms of our support for the Rohingya community here in Ireland, 82 members of the Rohingya community were settled in Carlow and five others were settled in Dublin in 2009 in response to the UNHCR’s call for temporary arrangements to be made for the Rohingya until the situation stabilises in Rakhine. Currently, the EU is providing around €70 million to the people of Rakhine state, most of which is used to meet the humanitarian needs of the people of the region. The EU will provide €688 million in development aid to Myanmar-Burma over the period 2014 to 2020. The EU will also provide more than €46 million in funding to neighbouring states that have received Rohingya people fleeing from Rakhine due to inter-ethnic violence. Ireland will continue, through relevant bilateral and multilateral channels, to press the authorities in Myanmar to address the serious situation in Rakhine state, as part of a continuing process of democratic transformation.
The term "silent genocide" has been used in regard to the Rohingya people in Myanmar. Considerable EU aid is going into the region. The provision of approximately €700 million in aid is planned from 2014 to 2020 and the provision of aid is also planned for neighbouring countries where Rohingya people have fled. As well as the provision of aid to the region, it is important that political dialogue occurs. I note what the Minister said about the human rights dialogue there. However, resolutions being passed are not always effective. I note a recent one where 188 members of the UN voted against the UN blockade of Cuba, yet that blockade continues. There is need for much more engagement. I know that Irish Aid is working in Myanmar but is any particular work being done with the Rohingya people by Irish Aid?
In terms of the Irish Government support, as well as at political level, in the context of our participation at the UN and the passing of resolutions and the need to ensure that the resolutions are implemented, we also have expressed our support for members of the Rohingya community here in Ireland, and 82 members of the community were settled in Carlow and five others were settled in Dublin in 2009 in response to the UNHCR's call for temporary arrangements to be made until the situation in region stabilises.
In terms of aid, currently the European Union is providing around €70 million to the people of Rakhine state, most of which is used to meet the humanitarian needs of the people of the region. The EU will provide €688 million in development aid to Myanmar over the period 2014 to 2020. The House might like to be aware that since 2007, more than €7 million has been provided by Irish Aid, through non-governmental organisations and Irish missionaries, for both long-term development and emergency and recovery responses in Myanmar. Last December Ireland announced an additional programme of funding worth more than €500,000 for a bilateral development assistance programme. The same level of funding has also been agreed for this year. Funding of €800,000 was provided to Trócaire, World Vision and Concern in response to the cyclone in 2008 and, in addition, the Irish Centre for Human Rights received €88,000 for research in human rights.
I apologise to the Minister for intervening but we must move on to the next question.
I will provide the balance of the reply to Deputy O'Sullivan on the outline of our funding to the region.
