Vol. 430 No. 2
112 Miss Quill asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the plight of the East Timorese women; the actions, if any, he intends to take at international level to heighten the awareness of the actions of violence, sadism and murder being inflicted on these women; if so, the way in which he proposes to proceed with a view to bringing about changes in the situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I am aware of reports of serious abuses of human rights in East Timor including those directed at women. We strongly condemn all such abuses.
Along with our partners in the EC, Ireland co-sponsored a strongly worded resolution on the situation in East Timor which was adopted at the recent session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. This resolution urges Indonesia to invite the Special Rapporteurs on Torture and on Summary Executions and the Working Groups on Arbitrary Detention and on Disappeared Persons to visit East Timor and to facilitate them in their work. We also welcome and support the negotiations on the status of East Timor which are taking place between Portugal and Indonesia under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General. Together with our EC partners, we will continue to follow closely developments in East Timor.
