Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Downes for the presentation. I will deal with this in two sections. First, I will look at the EU-Israel association agreement, to which Mr. Downes referred. He mentioned that there was a request for a suspension of the agreement. It is explicitly clear that Article 2 of the agreement has conditionalities or requirements around respect for human rights and democratic principles. I wonder why it is that, rather than moving for a suspension under that article, a review has been requested. Mr. Downes mentioned that there has been no substantive response but there has very much been a response. We had the response already from the Commission, which effectively said that it is a matter of foreign policy and political appreciation and should be done by the Council as an initiative. Basically, the Commission has said that there is not a review process or any kind of quasi-judicial process that assesses whether there have been human rights breaches. The Commission has the same evidence that is in the public realm and that evidence, of course, is that the International Court of Justice has ordered provisional measures in respect of prevention of genocide. There have been clear and documented breaches of human rights by Israel and there have been statements from the Israeli Government that it intends to disregard certain provisions or requests from the International Court of Justice.

In that context, we are clearly in a space where that concern with regard to human rights and respect for human rights principles in Article 2 is being breached, so there is no reason not to be moving to suspension, which is allowed under Article 82. Are there plans for Ireland to act in that regard? It is not a matter on which the Council has to wait for permission or a review from the Commission. The Commission has very strongly pushed back and said that this is a decision for the Council. I wonder whether Ireland will bring to the Council a request for suspension under Article 82.

The Department has pointed out the substantial trade benefits Israel has from its trade with the EU, which is its number one trade partner. Israel is benefiting extraordinarily highly from the privileged and advantaged position it has under the association agreement. It seems that all of that privileged relationship and access is on the idea that we are trading with a country that has basic standards of respect for human rights and democratic principles. As Mr. Downes put it, there may be obligations under the agreement for suspension, in terms of Article 2 of the agreement not being met. I am worried that a process will be created by going for a review, when in fact the actual process is that either party can choose to suspend. Is it not the case that now we need to look to suspension? There can then be further conversations about how the human rights concerns and so forth can be addressed. However, we should not be in a position of complicity, and potential complicity, with breaches of provisional measures from the International Court of Justice.

If Mr. Downes could address the wider association agreement, we might come back then on the occupied territories in particular.