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Human Rights

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 November 2018

Tuesday, 20 November 2018

Questions (103)

Seán Crowe

Question:

103. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that 425 social and community leaders have been murdered in Colombia since the signing of the peace agreement; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that these murders are targeted and pose a very real threat to the peace process; if has he raised these continued attacks on and assassinations of community and political activists in Colombia with his Colombian counterpart; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48134/18]

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Written answers

Firstly, I wish to extend my sincere sympathies and condolences to all of those affected by these acts of violence in Colombia. Such violence is entirely unacceptable, and I would once again call on the Government of Colombia to ensure that all such incidents are thoroughly investigated and their perpetrators brought to justice. I continue to be concerned about the attacks targeting social and community leaders in Colombia. The peace deal between the Colombian Government and FARC-EP group signed in November 2016 offered great hope that the 50 year cycle of armed conflict would be brought to an end. It is worth recalling that this conflict took the lives of at least 220,000 Colombians and displaced close to six million people.

The signing of this agreement was a historic moment but, as we know from our experience in Ireland, the signing of a peace agreement only marks the beginning of a process. We in Ireland understand the slow and painstaking work that goes into building trust between communities to enable reconciliation and to develop a culture of trust. We have had many dark moments and setbacks on our own road to peace.

My Department has an ongoing commitment to support peace and human rights in Colombia, including through the full implementation of the country’s peace accord. As well as exchanges with the Colombian authorities at Government level, officials at the Department and at the Embassy of Ireland in Mexico (which at present has responsibility for Colombia) engage regularly with the European Union Delegation and other embassies in Bogota, as well as with human rights defenders and civil society leaders active across the country.

My Department is also pleased to provide ongoing support to former Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eamon Gilmore in his role as EU Special Envoy to the Colombian peace process. Appointed to this role by HRVP Federica Mogherini in November 2015, Eamon Gilmore has been working with both Colombian and EU stakeholders to support the peace process, especially in the implementation phase.

I firmly believe that Colombia’s peace accord provides the framework in which the endemic violence and impunity which has afflicted Colombian society for decades can successfully be addressed. Historic strides have been made to date in its implementation. However, it is important to recognise that there remain significant challenges to its implementation, including in the areas of de-mining, attention to victims, transitional justice, and rural development, some of which directly impacts on the situation of political and community activists.

The Department provides funding directly to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia (OHCHR) to support its essential work to promote and protect human rights including in some of Colombia’s most isolated and challenging regions, as well as to the Inter American Commission on Human Rights, which provides protection measures to community leaders and activists operating in Colombia and elsewhere in Latin America.

With the opening of our new embassy in Bogota early next year, we will be in an even stronger position to monitor the progress of the peace process and to work alongside our EU partners and other organisations active on the ground. I can assure the Deputy of our continued commitment to assisting the Colombian Government in their goal of achieving a brighter, more peaceful and more prosperous future for all Colombians.

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