Frances Fitzgerald
Ceist:92 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the Irish response to the EU wide code of conduct on the arms trade; Ireland's approach to this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12967/98]
Written Answers. - Arms Trade.
Following extensive discussions on a joint British and French proposal for a European Union code of conduct, based on eight agreed common criteria, political agreement was reached on the text of the code at the General Affairs Council on 25 May.
Ireland has long advocated the adoption of measures to ensure the effective implementation of the EU common criteria in line with our objective of the promotion of restraint and responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and technologies for military use. During the Irish Presidency in 1996 some initial elements of interpretation of particular criteria and some practical measures for application of the criteria for internal use by arms export licensing authorities were agreed.
During the negotiations for the EU code of conduct, our primary objective was to ensure the codes credibility as a promoter of restraint and responsibility. To be credible, the code needed to contain clear unequivocal language on human rights. Throughout the process, Ireland advocated the strongest possible language on human rights consistent with the importance we place on human rights in our foreign policy.
I am disappointed, therefore, at the outcome in respect of the human rights criterion. I had wanted to see a provision envisaging complete abstention from arms exports to countries where there have been serious violations of human rights but certain partners were not even able to accept the possibility of restraint in respect of such arms exports.
While Ireland could have blocked adoption of the code on the grounds of this inadequacy, I took the view that even a limited step by the EU in this area is preferable to no step at all. We will use the opportunities presented by the annual review mechanism in the code to continue our efforts to ensure responsible export control policies are put in place by all our partners in the EU and to press for the clearest possible language on human rights.