Mr. John Ging:

On the Chairman's first point about the global political attention being consumed by many issues, there are many challenges that global leadership faces within its own countries, but also within the collective global endeavour. We have seen much political transition in many countries as well. All of us have to be aware that that may cause leadership to be distracted from the type of issue I am raising here today. At the heart of what is driving the misery, the death and the killing in so many countries is conflict, which is the product of political failure to resolve disputes, which requires external support to resolve. If countries could solve it themselves, then it would already be done. All of us need to continue to raise the profile and awareness among global leadership, in whatever format, whether the European Union format, the Security Council format, or in other bodies that come together to mobilise effective political action. They have to have what is driving these humanitarian crises on their agenda, beyond hand-wringing that there is not anything that they can do. There is much that we can do globally. We need to do much more than we are doing across the board. We need to do much more politically. We need to do much more in financial support for humanitarian action.

On the Chairman's second point, which is the question of gaining access to people who are dying due to the lack of basic supplies - whether medicine, food or so on - we find in too many of these conflict settings that there is no respect for innocent civilians. In fact, what is even more alarming is that there is a deterioration in respect for aid workers. I would like to commend the heroic aid workers who are not just risking their lives, but losing their lives in so many of these countries. We see, year on year, an increasing number of humanitarian colleagues - doctors, nurses and aid workers - losing their lives.

They are being killed because the parties to conflict do not respect the responsibility or duty of care to people who are doing nothing more than coming to help to save lives.

Irish NGOs are to be commended as they are at the forefront of humanitarian effort in all the crises I have mentioned. I do not believe I have gone to any country where I have not found the presence of Irish NGOs. This is part of the best tradition of the State. We should, however, be alarmed about the attacks on aid workers, on medical facilities and on other aid facilities. We are finding this to be an escalating challenge. In addition, and the Chairman made reference to it, there are so many places where we cannot get to the people because those who conduct the conflict prevent us from getting there. Their denial of aid is a weapon in the conflict. They have the view that the aid will help people but they want the people to surrender and give up. This has been said publicly. They use the prevention of access to aid as part of their weaponry in the conflict. This is in violation of international law and of all things decent and humane. It takes us to a very bad place in our current world where there are so many violations of the laws of war, of international humanitarian law and of the principles that make us civilised in how we conduct ourselves. There is no justification at all for the starving of people, now or at any time. Yet, this is what we see happening in too many places.