Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 September 2021
249. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the actions his Department is taking to address the recent re-arrests of Christians in Eritrea (details supplied) who were previously imprisoned in violation of their right to freedom of religion and belief; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45815/21]
View answerI am deeply concerned by the imprisonment of Christians in Eritrea on the basis of their religious belief.
The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (more commonly referred to as freedom of religion and belief) is regarded as a fundamental freedom, provided for under Article 18 of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. Ireland strongly condemns all forms of persecution on the basis of religion or belief, irrespective of where they occur or who the victims are.
The promotion of freedom of religion or belief is therefore a priority for Ireland’s human rights engagement at both multilateral and bilateral levels, as reaffirmed in ‘The Global Island: Ireland’s Foreign Policy for a Changing World’. Ireland consistently co-sponsors resolutions on freedom of religion or belief at the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council. During our Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2013, Ireland played a key role in the development and adoption of the EU Guidelines on Freedom of Religion or Belief. These Guidelines provide a framework for the promotion of freedom of religion and belief in the EU’s external human rights policy.
Ireland has consistently expressed concern about the human rights situation in Eritrea, including through our engagement at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Thus far in 2021, Ireland has made two statements on Eritrea at sessions of the Human Rights Council, echoing the call of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea for the Eritrean authorities to cooperate with UN and AU human rights mechanisms to address ongoing human rights violations. Ireland has also contributed to the drafting of EU statements and negotiations on the renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea. In our interventions at the Council, we have particularly recalled the 2016 findings of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, and its conclusion that crimes against humanity have been committed in Eritrean detention facilities, military training camps and other locations, and noting that there has been minimal progress towards reform. Despite the release of some prisoners who had been detained for their expression of religious belief last year, arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention are common practices, with individuals continuing to be detained in violation of international law.
Ireland has consistently urged Eritrea to comply with its obligations under international law and cooperate with both the Special Rapporteur and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and has repeatedly raised this at EU level.
In March 2021, the EU imposed sanctions on Eritrea’s National Security Agency under the new EU Global Human Rights Sanctions regime, citing responsibility of the Agency for serious human-rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests, extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture by its agents.
Ireland continues to be extremely concerned by the ongoing conflict in Tigray, Ethiopia, now into its tenth month, in which Eritrean troops are participating, and which in recent months has spilled over into neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar. The conflict continues to have a devastating impact on local populations, and poses severe risks to the stability of Ethiopia, and the wider Horn of Africa region. Ireland has called for all parties to the conflict to end hostilities, and for Eritrean troops to withdraw immediately. Addressing the situation in Ethiopia—including the presence of Eritrean troops—remains a key priority for Ireland, whether bilaterally, at the Human Rights Council, through European Union fora, and in the context of our UN Security Council membership.
My officials and Ireland’s Embassies in Nairobi (accredited to Eritrea) and Addis Ababa, continue to monitor the human rights situation in Eritrea and Ethiopia closely, including the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
