Carter praises Irish dedication to human rights

Ireland is the strongest voice for human rights within the EU, former US president Jimmy Carter said today.

The 2002 Nobel Peace Prize winner today received €600,000 in aid from the Irish Government for his global foundation which monitors elections in world trouble spots.

Mr Carter said Ireland has been an important ally of the Carter Centre in the pursuit of peace and democracy across the world.

He added: "I would say that the Irish Government has become the pre-eminent voice for human rights in the European Union."

Mr Carter was speaking to about 500 delegates at the ninth annual NGO Forum on Human Rights, at Croke Park conference centre.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern earlier paid tribute to Mr Carter's early interest in the North's peace process and to his integrity and dedication to public service.

"We in Ireland owe a particular debt to President Carter, as he was the one, in 1977, who first called for the British and Irish Governments to work together and pointed out the economic benefits of peace, which we are all enjoying 30 years later," Mr Ahern said.

Mr Carter established the Carter Centre in 1982 and it works in the areas of human rights, conflict prevention, democracy and health.

Irish Aid and the Carter Centre work in partnership with human rights defenders in developing countries.

Irish Aid said the €600,000 funding will help the Carter Centre to carry out its work without having to wait for finance to be raised.

The development agency funded the Centre by €50,000 in 2005 and €70,000 in 2006.

Mr Carter and his wife Rosalynn yesterday met with President Mary McAleese and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Dublin.

The 39th US president served one term in the White House from 1977-1981 and was succeeded by Ronald Reagan.

Mr Carter has since travelled extensively to monitor international elections, conduct peace negotiations and establish relief efforts.

The NGO Forum on Human Rights was established by the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1998 to promote debate on human rights issues with the emphasis on foreign policy.

It is an annual event which acts as a vital link between the department and all those active in the field of human rights.

Mr Carter said that if all the countries of the world were like Ireland, the 60th anniversary of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights could be truly celebrated next year.

Mr Carter reiterated his criticism of the US's record on the issue: "We used to be the champion of human rights in the world but we have abandoned that role completely now."

He added: "If all the countries were like Ireland, I would have no problems."

On the issue of alleged CIA rendition flights passing through Shannon Airport, Mr Carter said that Ireland has no option but to accept the word of the US that nothing untoward is happening.

"The government of Ireland has received absolute assurances from the government of the US on rendition flights," he told reporters.

"I'm not certifying whether that statement is accurate or inaccurate. I have no way of knowing. But the only alternative the Government of Ireland has is to accept the word of honour of a respected fellow nation."

He added: "I would presume that if it should be determined in the future that Shannon has been used for the rendition of prisoners for torture in other countries, then there would be an absolute prohibition imposed."

However Mr Carter claimed some of the new EU accession countries have been used for the transfer of prisoners in the rendition programme.

Mr Ahern insisted that no evidence had ever been found that rendition flights were passing though Shannon Airport and that the Government had been one of the first EU countries to highlight the issue.

Other speakers at today's Forum included Prof Theo van Boven, former UN Special Rapporteur against Torture; Prof Francoise Hampson, expert member of the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Roberto Ricci, Head of the Rapid Response Unit in the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Former American President Jimmy Carter is asked if Ireland should accept the word of the USA that flights landing at Shannon are not transporting prisoners for onward flights to be tortured in foreign countries.