Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and thank Mr. O'Gorman and his colleagues for a detailed report, which paints an extremely grim picture regarding many humanitarian problems worldwide, as well as the challenges these problems bring for global society. He also referred to the refuge crises in many regions, and the fact that Syria is not in the headlines daily just shows one what other competing crises exist worldwide. The figures cited by Mr. O'Gorman regarding Syria are startling, with 200,000 people dead in the past four years, 4 million people from Syria who now are refugees in other countries and 7.6 million people who have been displaced within Syria. Taken together, that number of people constitutes a sizeable proportion of Syria's population and this is a worrying and grim picture of a country and its people which have been devastated.

I wish to refer to two other areas. Mr. O'Gorman mentioned the conflict of more than one year ago in Palestine and the Gaza region, which resulted in the loss of 2,000 lives, of whom 1,500 once again were civilians. There was also a huge loss of life among children. Peter Power of UNICEF wrote recently about the extremely difficult situation for the people in Gaza and for children in particular, who are lacking in basic necessities. Again, this is also an area about which one does not read in the newspapers every day despite the huge problems that exist there. Everyone is aware that a pledging conference took place after the Gaza conflict ended in 2014 but very little of the aid pledged actually has reached the people in need or has been received to build up and repair the infrastructure that has been damaged over the decades in that region.

Mr. O'Gorman mentioned the United Nations Human Rights Council and from his comments, I believe he is highly unconvinced of the value of the work done by it. He mentioned in particular the United Nations Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict and if I read the report right, is unconvinced of the merits of the work the Human Rights Council will carry out. Everyone knows and members of the joint committee have often discussed the point that the structures of the United Nations are outdated and do not reflect the current political situation in the world. As members are aware, the structures were put in place following the Second World War and there obviously is a need for huge change in the architecture of the United Nations. Mr. O'Gorman went on to mention the UN Security Council adopting a code of conduct and agreeing to voluntarily refrain from using the veto in a way that would block Security Council action in situations of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity and noted that 40 governments have signed up to this. Do they include members of the Security Council and the people who have the right to use the veto? Are they party to that agreement to date?

I again compliment Mr. O'Gorman and Amnesty International on their work both in Ireland and internationally. Again, Mr. O'Gorman has outlined clearly today the serious difficulties, challenges and major crises that affect the international community at present, as well as issues that are not being dealt with in an adequate way, be it in respect of civil and basic human rights or with regard to the need to bring humanitarian assistance to many deprived people in many regions of the world.