Vol. 490 No. 3
52 Mr. Power asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the provisions of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations are not being adhered to in the USA, thus denying foreign nationals of an internationally given right; if he will express the concern of the Irish Government in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10207/98]
I understand the Deputy is referring to two recent cases, one involving a Paraguayan national in Virginia and the other a Honduran national in Arizona, both under sentence of death. In both cases the state authorities neglected to inform the foreign nationals concerned of their right, under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to a visit by their consular representatives.
I share the Deputy's concern that in some cases state authorities are not informing foreign nationals of their right under the Vienna Convention to a visit by their consular representative, nor informing foreign consular representatives when one of their nationals is in custody. I have no reason to believe that this is a result of a deliberate policy by state authorities but rather the result of a lack of awareness of their obligations. However, the United States federal authorities are aware of the breach of their obligations under the Vienna Convention. I understand that, in the case of the Paraguayan national, Secretary of State Albright wrote to the Governor of Virginia requesting him to delay the execution. The Secretary of State pointed out, inter alia, the possible negative consequences for the many US citizens living and travelling abroad, if some countries were to draw the conclusion that the US did not take its obligations under the Vienna Convention seriously. Despite this the state authorities proceeded with the execution. In the second case, that of the Honduran national, the State Department requested the relevant Arizona authorities to consider the fact that Article 36 of the Vienna Convention had been violated, although it did not, I understand, ask for the execution to be postponed. Once again this was to no avail as the execution took place on 22 April.
