Mattie McGrath warns of 'absolute slaughter' of Nigerian Christians

Goel mair, goethe. Goel mair, goethe. I want to thank the Count Colonel for selecting this topic. I believe it to be very important that we do discuss this and we do make our voices heard as a neutral country. And I have to say I'm in no way taking away from the savage, despicable war that's going on and slaughter going on in the Ukraine. But there are other parts of the world that we don't give this equal time to. And I want to thank indeed in this case, Sister Kathleen, McGarvey, for outlining so clearly how Christians in Nigeria are under constant attack. The Christians in Nigeria, as I said, are under attack on a daily and an hourly basis. And not only in Nigeria, but also in Yemen and indeed some parts of the Eastern world that we were supposed to have liberated where we went in. And, you know, you know, you know, you know, you know, the Americans, indeed coalition of forces and bombed the places to bits, you know, and we saw what happened in Afghanistan. But, you know, we had, it's hard to believe it, but under some of the dictators and minority religion, Christians and minority Muslims and other faiths were allowed to worship with impunity and protection. And since those dictators have been removed, they haven't got the same freedom of worship. And that's a shocking situation. It's hard to believe that in 2021, the Nigerian government saw the slaughter of 4000 Nigerian Christians in 2021. And the government in Nigeria has one side in this, as if that it's two sects that are fighting amongst themselves and nothing can be further from the truth. It's absolute slaughter of Christians and with impunity there from sects, other Boko Haram and other Muslim people that are just, it's atrocious. And our government should be raising this at United Nations and where we had a representation at present. And our Taoiseach is silent on the matter, as far as I can see, and indeed, and our Minister for Foreign Affairs, and calling on them to act and call this out for what it is, pure absolute slaughter of Christians. And one would hate to have to wonder, is it the colour of people's skin that's so important then? You know, it's shocking what's going on out there. And as I said, our Oogdoran here linked the slaughter in the Christian church to climate change and how that could have been even dreamt up. But nonetheless, I'm thankful for the counterculture. I wait for the minister here to reply and tell us what he's going to do. As a neutral country, we should be raising this from the high heavens that this is going on throughout the world. And we, as a neutral country, as I said, want to, as a proud record of peacekeeping in this country, that we want to raise these issues. Not having an older teacher, this week was in Ukraine. There are other parts of the world that the slaughter has gone on as well, and there's nothing word about it, not a peep. And the media, as well, seem to be very slow to report it. So we need this highlighted. We need the whole Nigerian government to account. I am a member of the International Christian Legislators, and I've got first-hand accounts from Nigerian members of parliament and government ministers of what's going on. So I am very, very concerned. Deputy Michael Connors had this issue. It was his name at this topical issue. Unfortunately, he was called away this evening, and he's not here. But I want to thank him for joining me in this topical. And I hope that the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, will give us some hope and some outline as to what our government is doing about this. Thank you. Thank you. And thank you, Deputy McGrath, for raising the issue. Because, of course, this is an issue I would have raised myself as an opposition TD. And I'm grateful that you're raising it here today. And it gives us a chance to outline exactly what the government is doing and where we're raising this at International Forum. So thank you for raising it. Religious persecution is on the rise in many parts of the world, and it is welcome for me to outline the important work that Ireland is doing to protect and defend faith-based minorities from attack and to advance religious freedom for all. The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion is regarded as a fundamental freedom, set forth in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The UN Human Rights Committee have confirmed that it includes the freedom to change religion or belief or to adopt atheistic views. The promotion of freedom of religion or belief is a priority for Ireland's human rights engagements at bilateral and multilateral level, which we reaffirmed in our policy document, The Global Ireland – Ireland's Foreign Policy for a Changing World. Ireland strongly condemns all forms of persecution on the basis of religion or belief, no matter where in the world it happens or who the victims may be. At multilateral level, the right to freedom of religion or belief features prominently in Ireland's engagement at the UN Security Council, in the UN General Assembly and at the Human Rights Council, as well as through our participation in intergovernmental alliances dedicated to religious freedom and the protection of minorities. So, as recently as 21 March 21, Ireland participated in a special sitting of the Security Council where we raised issues relating to freedom of religion and belief. In particular, Ireland used this opportunity to share our own experience of religious conflict, reflecting on the important role that religious leaders have played in securing peace for Northern Ireland. Ireland condemned the use of religion or belief to create hierarchies of humanity, which are artificially constructed to generate categories of belonging and exclusion. This cannot be tolerated. Ireland consistently co-sponsors resolutions on freedom of religion or belief at the UN General Assembly and at the Human Rights Council. Ireland is also a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, as well as the International Contact Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief. Indeed, my own work in the General Affairs Committee deals with anti-Semitism. Both of the organisations that I mentioned, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance and the International Contact Group on Freedom of Religion, both of those bodies work to strengthen, advance and promote religious freedom. Within the EU also, Ireland works with partners to address the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities. During Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2013, Ireland played a key role in the development and adoption of the EU guidelines on freedom of religion and belief. These guidelines provide a framework for the promotion of the freedom of religion and belief in the EU's external human rights policies. I wish to take this opportunity to condemn in the strongest possible terms the attack last month on innocent civilians gathering to attend Sunday Mass at St Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Nigeria. This was the latest in a string of deadly faith-based attacks to take place in this country over the past decade. This attack resulted in the death of multiple people and left a further 40 wounded. There can be no justification for acts of violence or discrimination of any kind on the basis of religion or belief. Atrocities of this kind remind us that we cannot take religious freedom for granted. So our Diplomats, our Embassy in Abuja, they all continue to work with the local civil society on the ground to monitor developments in relation to the investigation of this attack. Ireland takes very seriously its commitment to ensuring the right to freedom of religion or belief and continues to use all avenues available to highlight our concerns and actively engage with like-minded partners. I want to thank Deputy Carolyn Olin for continuously asking Parliament questions and raising this issue. We were so fortunate last Saturday to have a celebration of Mass by our parish priest, Father Michael Toomey, out at Hermes Rock, where priests were victimised and terrorised and indeed paid the ultimate price of their lives back in the penal days. It is nice that we have moved on. Thankfully, we celebrated that Father Paddy Hanlon was erected this Mass some 20 years ago. We have it every July out in the Muffin Spear. It is a wonderful day in the parish and it is nice to remember that. But as you have referred to as well, the vicious attack on that church in Nigeria, where people gather to worship, and it is going on on an hourly, a daily and a weekly basis. The Nigerian government must be held to account. In Yemen and other parts of the country, as I said, the world, as I said, Ireland must be to the forefront. But I don't hear a geeks, you have outlined that you have done it with the United Nations and our official deliverance. But why is our Taoiseach not cheerleading on this, as he is, as I said, what is going on in other countries, namely for the war in Ukraine. So, we must be equal-handed. We must deal with all persecution on the basis of religion. It is obnoxious, it is obscene. And the way that the ease of access, and they use this, the Boko Haram and other minority sexes can easily recruit from people who have a great education. I want to thank the religious sisters and priests of Ireland that went all over the world to provide education, and they are still doing it here. Goodness knows they get enough criticism here in this house, but I want to salute them for what they have done and what they continue to do. But we need to keep this at the United Nations level, at EU level, and if there is a sense that we can raise it, because it is just not acceptable that this kind of religious persecution can take place and the savage loss of human life is atrocious. Thanks again for raising the issue. I did outline that we do engage a lot at multilateral level, and I will just outline some of the recent work on that. The 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council concludes later this week in Geneva. Ireland at this took important steps to highlight our concerns around religious freedom. Along with 46 other countries, Ireland signed up to a joint statement on human rights in China. The statement noted with particular concern reports of China's restrictions in Xinjiang, which include restrictions on the right of the Uyghur population to freedom of religion or belief. Ireland also presented an Item 2 national statement, which called on the Chinese authorities to respect international law, particularly in relation to the rights of those living in Xinjiang and Tibet. At the Human Rights Council again, Ireland has previously supported resolutions to extend the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur for Religious Freedom to allow a continuation of this important and meaningful work on the world stage. Furthermore, officials in the Department have been following with great interest the International Ministerial Conference on Freedom of Religion or Belief taking place this week in London. We participated on Tuesday of this week in a parallel event at the British Embassy, which included attendance by members of the Dublin City Interfaith Forum. All of this work that has been done by the government officials at various multilateral bodies is done on behalf of the government of Ireland and the people of Ireland. The Tisha cannot be at every single meeting, but as I think you can see now, there is a huge amount of work being done by the government in this area, and I am grateful that you have given me a chance to outline that. Ireland is fully committed to protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief, and continues to use all avenues available to highlight our concerns and to actively engage and support like-minded partners. And again, I want to thank our Embassy in Abuja for the work they are doing on the ground currently in following the investigation and working with people on the ground on behalf of Ireland, on behalf of the Stahl, on behalf of the people, to get justice there and to make sure an investigation can find out what happened and put a stop to all this violence and discrimination against people because of their religion or belief. Goor Magid. Thank you.