Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for having missed the beginning of the presentation. I will not go back over questions that have already been asked. We know the political situation and the political answer in regard to Syria from what Ms O'Hara has said. My question is on where that will lead into rebuilding and people going home. What is her sense of how near or how far away that is? With the fall of Aleppo I think people were wondering if that might be it in terms of the military end of it or if we are going to see another Aleppo in places like Douma or Idlib? Does the UNHCR have any engagement with the white helmets? We hear conflicting reports about their work.

Others have mentioned the Yazidis and the minorities. Where can the UNHCR help people like the Yazidis who are scattered in a number of countries, who are an ethnic group and who want to go back to their homeland and to have their right of return?

Are protection zones respected when there is an attempt to provide a protection zone for vulnerable people?

The UN is a massive organisation. There are many NGOs, other organisations and faith-based groups in the countries where the UN is working. What is the level of co-ordination? Even though all of the groups are present, some people can fall through the cracks. Before Christmas some of us met a group that is working with Iraqi Christian refugees who are based in Jordan and relying on fund-raising efforts in this and other countries to support their health, education and housing needs.

Regarding Yemen and the effect of the use of drones and cluster bombs, what work is the UN doing in that country?

Finally, other members have asked about Turkey. My concern about Turkey is that there are Kurdish groups who are very proactive in supporting democracy and people's democratic rights, yet we are aware of the conflict between the Turks and the Kurds. Where can there be a resolution to that in the future? My fear is that, again, the Kurdish people will be the victims in all of this.

The witness mentioned community based work. We had a meeting with representatives of the Global Fund recently and they pointed out that community-based interventions in terms of health are much more effective, so it was good to hear that point.