Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2017
247. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts being made at EU and international level to prevent the persecution of Christians; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30902/17]
View answerThe right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion is regarded as a fundamental and universal right for every human being, provided for under Article 18 of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights.
Freedom of religion and belief is one of the priorities of Ireland’s international engagement on human rights. At the United Nations General Assembly Ireland consistently condemns all forms of persecution, intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief. We also raise our concerns at the Universal Periodic Review, a unique peer mechanism of the Human Rights Council under which the human rights records of all UN Member States are reviewed. At the most recent session, which took place in May this year, we raised the issue of the harassment, intimidation and persecution of religious and other minorities in Indonesia.
Last month, at the 35th session of the Human Rights Council, Ireland strongly condemned all forms of persecution on the basis of religion or belief, irrespective of where they occur or who the victims are. We also expressed our deep concern at the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East region and Eritrea. Ireland consistently supports the EU-led resolutions on freedom of religion or belief at the UN, most recently at the UN General Assembly in November 2016 and during the 34th session of the Human Rights Council in March 2017. The EU is a strong supporter of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council.
During the Irish Presidency in 2013, Ireland played a key role in the development and adoption of the EU Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief. The Guidelines provide a framework for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief in the EU’s external human rights policy and reaffirm the EU’s determination to promote freedom of religion or belief as a right to be exercised by everyone everywhere.
In 2015 Ireland pressed for the inclusion of a reference to the promotion of freedom of religion or belief in the EU Action Plan for Human Rights and Democracy 2015-2019. In May 2016, on the basis of a European Parliament resolution, the EU established the role of Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion and belief outside the EU. The mandate aims to address the growing restrictions on religious freedom internationally. In May 2017, the Commission extended the mandate of the special envoy for an additional year.
