On Wednesday the 28th of February the Dail Sub-Committee on Human Rights discussed measures to stop the illegal harvesting of organs from Falun Gong practitioners in China.
Presenting to the Committee was the renowned Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas who on January 31st released a revised report on the harvesting of organs from Falun Gong practitioners in China. Mr Gerald O'Connor also spoke on behalf of the Irish Falun Gong Association.
The report written by Kilgour and Matas was the result of a request from the Coalition to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (CIPFG) to investigate claims of organ harvesting from live Falun Gong practitioners. The investigators concluded in their opinion that the allegations were true and organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners was taking place across China.
Following Mr Mata's presentation a number of suggestions were made by Irish TD's and Senators to stop organ harvesting in China, including examining legislation regarding people travelling to China for organ transplants and examining the sale of certain drugs by pharmaceutical companies used in organ transplant surgery and after-care where the consent of the organ donor could not be proved.
Page 23 of the Matas-Kilgour revised organ harvsting report, Bloody Harvest states: "If there is doubt as to whether the consent to donate the organ for transplant is given freely or voluntarily by the donor, the medical profession should have nothing to do with the donation."
During the committee presentation Mr Matas said "I have never seen consent forms and it is my considered opinion that they do not exist".
TD Pat Carey stated during the discussion that "the government could pursue a course which would bring influence to bear on the medical profession and pharmaceutical companies".
During the presentation Mr. Matas said "that the military was heavily involved in organ harvesting and that the people receiving the transplants were mostly foreigners".
In the report it states: The military have access to prisons and prisoners. Their operations are even more secretive than those of the civilian government. They are impervious to the rule of law.
Catherine Murphy TD suggested that the committee could interview people from outside China who received organs as part of the investigation.
Mr Matas said "that if the committee plans on trying to enter China as part of their investigation they should use extreme caution when interviewing local Chinese people".
He gave the example of when the European Vice-Chairman Edward McMillan Scott visited China to interview people about organ harvesting these people were arrested after the meeting.
The chairman of the Committee Senator Paul Bradford said that the Chinese Ambassador to Ireland refused an official invitation from the committee to answer questions regarding claims of organ harvesting.
Mr Matas urged the committee to pressure the Chinese communist regime to cooperate with the UN Rapporteur for Torture Manfred Nowak who is insisting that the communist regime can not ignore the allegations but must instead address the serious questions raised.
He also urged the Committee members to talk to organ transplant professionals in Ireland and enquire what connections they had with their counterparts in China. Irish advances in organ transplant medical science should not be used in illegal organ harvesting practices in China.
Senator Bradford stressed that the "committee takes the allegations very seriously and would respond as quickly and strongly as possible" and that it would investigate to the maximum extent possible".
A preliminary report will be prepared by the committee in the coming months.
The members of the Subcommittee on human rights present were Chairman Paul Bradford, Fine Gael, Michael D. Higgins, Labour, Pat Carey, Fianna Fail, Catherine Murphy, Independent and Noel Davern Fianna Fail.
The Irish Senate requested to debate human rights in China
Senator David Norris has called for the Irish Senate to debate human rights in China after seeing David Kilgour's presentation to the Foreign Affairs committee last November.
Mr Norris said he was shocked that organs where being ordered from China from across Asia. He made the analogy "It was like a butcher's shop with spare parts for purchase."
The Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern issued a statement on February the 9th saying "I view very seriously the allegations relating to the harvesting of live organs from Falun Gong practitioners."
Mr Matas spoke to an enthusiastic audience in Trinity College Dublin
On Wednesday the 28th of February Mr Matas gave a public speech in Trinity College Dublin.
Present were doctors, lawyers, elected representatives, human rights activists and students from the three main Dublin universities.
The talk originally planned for one hour continued for three hours with a captivated audience asking several varied and incisive questions.
Although exhausted from multi - media interviews and jet-lag Mr. Matas answered all the questions addressed to him in an erudite, informed and sincere fashion.
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