Bernard Allen
Ceist:154 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he is considering sending a mission to Peru.
Written Answers. - Mission to Peru.
The Government have been following recent developments in Peru with great concern. Over the past year the Sendero Luminoso or Shining Path guerillas are reported to have carried out over 20,000 terrorist attacks. This has led to a state of emergency being introduced in many parts of the country, which in turn has given rise to serious concern about human rights.
In response to this situation the Peruvian Government have recently adopted a number of measures including the establishment of the "Consejo Por La Paz" or Council for Peace, a broadly based civilian group charged with drafting a national peace accord, and with recommending ways of strengthening the Public Prosecutions Department and the criminal justice system. In addition, a Government decree has been adopted allowing unrestricted access by public prosecutors and the Red Cross to detention centres controlled by the armed forces in areas where the state of emergency is in force.
The Peruvian Government have also invited the Organisation of American States' Inter-American Commission for Human Rights to visit Peru and to compile a report on the human rights situation there. Ireland, together with partners in the Twelve, strongly supports efforts at the regional level to solve problems in the region. We therefore welcome the invitation to the Organsiation of American States to send its Human Rights Commission to the area.
Ireland has not received an invitation from the Peruvian Government to send a mission to Peru. However, we are concerned about the situation there and we will be following closely all developments arising from the latest measures adopted by the Peruvian authorities as well as the report of the Organisation of American States' Human Rights Commission.