Vol. 761 No. 2
6Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he supports the growing Kony 2012 campaign committed to ensuring that Joseph Kony the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army is brought to justice for his crimes this year; the actions he has taken on this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17183/12]
I will echo the Tánaiste's sentiments as we are all under some time pressure with prior commitments this evening.
I share the widespread concern that Joseph Kony remains at large in central Africa. I welcome recent public initiatives to highlight the fact that he has not been held to account for the atrocities which he and his so-called Lord's Resistance Army, LRA, committed over two decades in northern Uganda and the wider region.
In 2005, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Joseph Kony and other leaders of the LRA on 33 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. These are charges of the utmost gravity and it is essential that Mr. Kony appear before the court to answer them. We strongly support the work of the International Criminal Court in seeking to bring him and his collaborators to justice. Ireland, both directly and as a member of the European Union, provides ongoing support, including funding, for the court and for its work. We also support regional efforts, in co-operation with the United Nations, to implement a comprehensive peace building strategy which aims to combat the activities of the LRA in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan.
Northern Uganda suffered more than any other area from the appalling violence of the LRA in the years up to 2006, when the group moved into neighbouring countries. Ireland has been providing humanitarian support to the people of the area for well over a decade. Uganda is one of the priority countries for Ireland's aid programme and we have a commitment to the provision of long term strategic assistance there. As part of our overall programme, we have committed to providing some €22.5 million between 2010 and 2014 to support the Ugandan Government's programme for the north of the country to ensure recovery from the disastrous effects of two decades of war.
I thank the Minister of State for her reply. We are all struck by the worldwide impact of the social media campaign, Kony 2012. I am sure many of us would have to admit we were not aware of the nefarious activities of the Lord's Resistance Army as established by this notorious individual, Joseph Kony.
The Leas-Cheann Comhairle is under pressure so I will be brief. Has the Minister had any communications with the US authorities or her EU counterparts in regard to advocating military support for the capture of Joseph Kony? The US authorities have provided 100 military experts. Does the capacity exist within the EU to address this issue? What discussions, if any, have we had on this matter with the African Union and with people such as Jean Ping, and can the AU play a more active role?
I agree with the Deputy's sentiment about the power of social media. This is something we saw in the Arab Spring in particular. I hope it will assist people who otherwise might not have a voice or be in a position to draw the attention of world leaders to issues of such grave international significance.
The European Union is constantly co-ordinating and liaising, especially in this region, and has announced it will provide €9 million for humanitarian assistance to the war-affected population as part of its regional strategy. The EU has a good record and I believe it will be enhanced in the region in the months and years ahead. As a member of the United Nations, Ireland is very much engaged in this issue. The UN, the African Union and the US Administration are co-ordinating to assist national armies in the region to end the scourge of LRA violence - which is a tall order. Last year the US deployed a team of 100 military advisers and experts in order to provide logistical support and build the capacity of the indigenous forces. That is the right approach.
In addition, the Great Lakes regional armed forces recently established a 5,000 strong force under the auspices of the African Union to combat the LRA rebels. Uganda, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic have united under a Ugandan forces commander and will be based in South Sudan.
Is the Deputy happy enough with that? We will move on.
7Deputy Willie O’Dea asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he raised with the Israeli Government the recent violence in the Palestinian territories that resulted in fatalities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17213/12]
36Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on whether the recent acts of violence in Gaza which resulted in the death of 26 Palestinians and rocket attacks on Southern Israel were precipitated by Israel’s assassination of Zuhir al-Qaisi and if he will call on the Israeli Government to cease these acts. [17222/12]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 36 together.
I have been deeply concerned by the worrying rise in violent exchanges across the Gaza border in recent weeks and made this clear in a statement which I issued on 12 March. These exchanges have included not only Israeli air strikes against Gaza, in which 24 people are believed to have been killed, including five civilians, but also continuing and completely unjustifiable indiscriminate rocket and mortar attacks by militants against civilian targets in Israel. A measure of calm has returned following the conclusion of an Egyptian mediated cease-fire on 13 March but these events greatly inflame tensions and negatively impact the prospects for the resumption of substantive meaningful peace talks.
Since the conclusion of the Gaza conflict in January 2009, the use of military force between Gaza and Israel, in both directions, has considerably abated. Hamas has broadly refrained from rocket or mortar attacks into Israel, and has acted with some degree of success to restrict such attacks by other militant groups in Gaza.
The most recent attacks were carried out by militant Islamic groups in response to the targeted assassination of the militant, Zuhair al-Qaissi. Again, I condemn the utterly indiscriminate firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel and the resulting terror inflicted on the population of southern Israel. However, although I recognise that Israel has to take steps to prevent terrorist attacks against its civilian population, I do not believe the practice of targeted assassinations is justified or strengthens Israel's security. Nor can I condone the disproportionate use of military force by Israel in response to such events which results in large-scale civilian casualties.
I deplore and condemn all attacks against civilians. Both Israelis and Palestinians are entitled to live free of the fear of attack.
I will be brief, being conscious of the time constraints. I commend the Tánaiste on his response. I had a very interesting meeting yesterday with the Israeli Ambassador, His Excellency, Mr. Boaz Modai, and was struck by his absolute conviction that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the man to work towards a solution to this intractable problem.
From his visit to the region in January, will the Tánaiste give his assessment of the process and his views on the kind of further facilitation or interventions that may be necessary to broker a peace deal? Has the issue of this most recent violence been raised with members of the Middle East Quartet?
When I visited the Middle East at the end of January I met Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Liberman, on the Israeli side and President Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister, Riyadh al-Maliki, on the Palestinian side. The talks in Amman had just commenced at that stage, namely, the attempt to get things moving along the lines of the Quartet framework. Both sides told me they were willing to engage in those talks and move them ahead.
I left the meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu hoping there would be progress on the Israeli side and that some confidence-building measures would be announced which would enable President Abbas to proceed with talks and make some progress at that end. I am disappointed that has not happened. We continue to work through the European Union. Catherine Ashton has been in touch with both sides on a regular basis to try to get the Quartet formula moving forward again. I remain hopeful that may happen.
One of the concerns one has reading reports during and after the recent attacks by the Israeli Army is the real sense the army had targeted and killed a militant in Gaza. Forces within Gaza then launched missile attacks on south Israel. None of them were part of Hamas. At least ten people were killed, a good number of whom were civilians. The concern in the region is that this may have been an attempt to provoke Hamas and undermine the partnership it has developed with Fatah which is critical in terms of achieving the unity of the Palestinian people, creating and sustaining a two-state solution and guaranteeing the security of both Israel and Palestine for which we all hope and pray.
Does the Tánaiste believe the initial actions of the Israeli Army in targeting somebody like that were reckless and wrong?
I cannot speculate as to what was the motivation. The attacks in both directions - the terrorist attacks on Israel and the military attacks in the opposite direction - are wrong to the extent that 25 people are dead, many of them civilians. As has been said time out of number, substantive talks to get a settlement are needed. It is disappointing that the Quartet framework has not been progressed to date. Ireland will work actively through the European Union and United Nations to get those talks progressed.
I agree wholeheartedly with the Tánaiste that strikes on both sides are to be regretted and are wrong. In the past five years, deaths on the Palestinian side outnumbered deaths on the Israeli side by over 100 to one. It is a pretty uneven fight at the moment. I find it odd that the Tánaiste referred to one attack as a terrorist attack and the other as military. People on both sides have been terrorised by the actions taken.
I have been pretty clear on the attacks from both sides. We want both to end and I am glad that, as a result of the Egyptian intervention, the outbreak of violence has ended. I hope that remains the case but there is an onus on people to get talks moving again. There must be a settlement and that is why Ireland continues to press at EU and UN levels to get things moving. It is deeply frustrating that what appeared to be an initial hopeful sign that meaningful talks would get under way has been put on the backburner.
8Deputy Jonathan O’Brien asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding the follow up work that has been done jointly between him and the Colombian Government on issues discussed during President Santos’s visit to Ireland in January; and the recent efforts that have been made by him at European level to raise ongoing human rights concerns in advance of free trade agreement negotiations. [17221/12]
I met the Vice President of Colombia, Angelino Garzón, when he visited Ireland on 24 January. I conveyed the concerns of the Government of Ireland at reports of human rights abuses in Colombia. Vice President Garzón acknowledged these concerns and underlined the progress that had been made in recent years to improve the human rights situation in Colombia. During our meeting, Vice President Garzón and I discussed the possibilities for information-sharing experiences between Irish and Colombian NGOs and civil society organisations.
We also discussed the Colombian Government's plans for a national conference on human rights scheduled to take place in November-December 2012. Further information on the theme for, as well as the process of participating in, this important event has been sought from the Colombian embassy in London. It is intended that a series of regional roundtable dialogues in Colombia will precede the conference, the aim of which is to create a national framework for human rights.
Ireland actively supports the EU policy of engagement, dialogue and scrutiny as the best way to promote the advancement of human rights in Colombia. The EU recognises that Colombia remains a fragile state and that, despite the progress made, human rights abuses continue to occur. It is for this reason that Ireland attached such importance to the inclusion of a human rights clause in the EU free trade agreement with Colombia and Peru during its negotiation.
Ireland will continue to support the efforts of the Colombian Government to address human rights challenges via our embassy in Mexico city and with our partners in the European Union.
There is a mistake in the question, which refers to President Santos. As the Tánaiste correctly pointed out, it was a Vice President Garzón. I met him in person and I thank the Tánaiste for clarifying that.
I met a former trade unionist yesterday in the House. He is from Colombia but is now a refugee in Europe. He expressed concern about the harrowing history of murders of trade union leaders. Colombia has one of the worst, if not the worst, records in the world. His concern is that, as civil society starts to organise itself through trade union movements, women's movements and rural peasant movements, they will not be allowed to make their protest peacefully and develop and articulate their sense of injustice.
The Tánaiste and the Minister of State, Deputy Costello, have pointed out that Ireland inserted a human rights clause into the free trade agreement, which is heavily opposed by the trade union movement in Europe because of concerns that it is premature. Colombia has a long way to go in demonstrating its bona fides on human rights and the protection of rural landowners from pillaging of their matter resources by multinationals. This has been the case in Colombia and Peru. Will the Tánaiste give the House an assurance that, as the Government intends to proceed with the agreement and has inserted a human rights clause, he will lead from the front if there is any attempt to undermine a civil society movement or peaceful opposition by people in the country?
We will lead from the front on this issue. As Deputy Mac Lochlainn acknowledged, we strongly argued that there should be a human rights clause in the free trade agreement. The agreement provides for a suspension or abandonment of the agreement if human rights are not honoured in Colombia. I share the concern expressed about the dangers in Colombia for trade union activists. I raised that directly with the Vice President when he was here. The Vice President is a former trade union leader in Colombia and has some understanding of these issues. We intend to proceed with this and it is one of the reasons we discussed the possibility of an arrangement whereby the civil society organisations on the Irish and Colombian sides, such as NGOs and trade unions, could have an exchange at that level. This would lead to active engagement between people who work the ground in the trade union area with counterparts in Colombia. We will keep on top of this.
Written Answers follow Adjournment.
The Dáil adjourned at 5.45 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 18 April 2012.
