Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 February 2022
25. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the amount of goods and services imported into Ireland from China which is believed to be linked to forced labour camps for Uighur Muslims by goods and services and the corresponding value in tabular form. [6409/22]
View answerThe Central Statistics Office compiles statistical data in relation to Goods Exports and Imports. These statistics can be found on the website www.cso.ie. Trade data is collected by the Central Statistics Office at a country level, in this case for China as a whole, and so the more detailed breakdown requested by the Deputy is not available.
As regards the substantive human rights issue to which the Deputy refers, Ireland remains deeply concerned about the evidence-based reports regarding the treatment of ethnic Uyghurs in Xinjiang. We have raised these concerns, along with our partners in the EU and the wider international community, on a number of occasions, including most recently at the 48th UN Human Rights Council in September and in the UN Third Committee on Human Rights in October. We have consistently called on China to allow unrestricted and meaningful access to the region for independent observers, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. We look forward to her upcoming report on human rights in Xinjiang.
