Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 September 2021
221. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the assessment he has made of a recent independent report (details supplied) which found that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea enforces absolute denial of religious freedom; the actions he will take to address this particular violation of human rights in the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44289/21]
View answerI believe that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, more commonly referred to as freedom of religion or belief. As a fundamental freedom, I am concerned about any reported persecution because of religious belief, irrespective of where it occurs.
In March 2021 Ireland made a national statement at the Human Rights Council during an Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), to raise serious concerns about human rights violations in the country. Ireland urged the DPRK to take immediate steps to halt all human rights violations, to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur’s mandate, and to fully implement the human rights treaties to which they are party.
This year Ireland co-sponsored a Resolution at the Human Rights Council, which condemned in the strongest possible terms the long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations and other human rights abuses committed in the DPRK. The Resolution drew attention to findings made by the Commission of Inquiry in its report, including the denial of the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the right to adopt a religion or belief. The Resolution urges the Government of the DPRK to ensure the right to freedom of religion or belief. It also raises severe concerns about the discrimination under the songbun system, which classifies people based on State-assigned social class and birth and includes consideration of political opinions and religion.
Freedom of religion or belief is a priority for Ireland’s engagement on human rights issues at the UN. In February, Ireland signed a joint letter to the President of the UN Security Council, requesting that the agenda item, ‘The situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’ remain on the list of items of which the Council is seized. This provides a possibility to discuss the DPRK, including human rights issues, at Security Council level. Ireland joined others in repeating this request at a meeting of the Security Council on 25 August. My Department will continue to assess the situation in the DPRK, paying particular attention to the human rights situation and all independent and credible reports of violations, and in the specific context of Ireland’s membership of the Security Council.
