Ireland is to fund former UN secretary general Kofi Annan's efforts to broker a peace deal in Kenya, the Dáil has been told.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern told Labour spokesman Michael D Higgins that the UN had approached Ireland's UN mission in New York on Tuesday seeking assistance in funding the talks.
The Minister did not disclose the amount that would be donated but said it would be in addition to the €1 million provided by Irish Aid, the Government's overseas aid section, to address the humanitarian crisis there following the conflict in the wake of the disputed presidential election.
Ireland is already a significant donor to Kenya providing €6 million in humanitarian funding in 2006 and €16 million through agencies and not directly to the government there.
Mr Annan is head of a panel currently attempting to mediate a political settlement between government and opposition. President Kibaki and Mr Odinga have had two face-to-face meetings since the election, on January 24th and 29th in Nairobi, as part of Mr Annan's mediation efforts.
The Minister said "these efforts achieved a breakthrough on February 1st, with agreement on a framework for negotiations covering the election outcome, the humanitarian situation, the political crisis and land tenure/reform issues. The discussions are due to last a month and aim to end the current violence within two weeks." Mr Ahern said it was deeply disturbing that the violence had continued. More than 1,000 people have been killed and up to 300,000 displaced in the aftermath of the December 27th election.
Mr Higgins said "the impact of so-called displacement is effectively little short of ethnic cleansing, to some extent, as regards the population movements" The Minister said "the ethnic dimension to the violence which has occurred is a matter of particular concern, and responsible leadership at the highest level is urgently needed. I am also concerned by the fact that two opposition MPs have been among those killed." "Any efforts to resolve the current crisis must also address more long-term issues, such as the need for constitutional and electoral reform and greater progress in tackling corruption within Kenya, as well as the immediate issue of the disputed election outcome.
He said that "my EU colleagues and I discussed Kenya at the General Affairs and External Affairs Council in Brussels on 28th January. Council Conclusions were agreed which stress the need for a political solution to the violence in Kenya, and call on all sides to give the necessary full support to the mediation efforts".
