Mr. Barry Andrews:

Many of the questions related to the tension between respecting the sovereignty of Syria while also providing for the humanitarian protection of citizens and the international community's ability to reconcile those competing interests. As a humanitarian agency, we wish the international community could resolve that issue but we do not have an answer because it is not within our area of expertise. We see clearly that while the UN has set itself a target of reconciling that problem it appears from what has happened subsequently that, for example, responsibility to protect is not an effective instrument because the principles on which it is based cannot be discharged in these circumstances. Effectively, the UN is paralysed and cannot meet the major humanitarian needs that are emerging. The other side of that coin is the question of honouring pledges that have been made by donor countries. Senator Norris's suggestion on naming and shaming has merit and we will try to provide some assistance to the committee in that regard.

In regard to media reporting, some incredibly brave journalists have undertaken dangerous missions to front line areas which I would not visit, such as Damascus, Aleppo and Homs, and have produced superb documentaries. I commend to members Channel 4's "Dispatches" programme which aired one week ago. While media reporting at this level might not be great, certain journalists deserve commendation. When I travelled to Syria I was accompanied by representatives of independent newspapers, who were able to produce a large amount of documentary testimony to share with the Irish public. That was a useful way on our part to highlight the issues arising.