Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his detailed presentation. I will go backwards with regard to his speech. It is very exciting that we are taking a seat on the UN Security Council in the next few weeks. I welcome the fact that the Minister will be keeping us informed, but because it is so soon and because the Minister will be attending only every six months, I suggest that he give us an ongoing rolling update on the work we are doing on the Council. Perhaps it could be done through the clerk of the committee. We are obviously all very interested but the public really wants to know what we are doing and how we are using our seat on this important national body.

The second matter I would like to raise concerns the Uyghur Muslims in China. Has the Minister brought this matter to the attention of the Chinese representative? What was the Chinese response when he raised this issue? We are hearing about forced labour and forced internment. These are very worrying. We should ensure that we raise this matter with the Chinese representative in Ireland. It is incumbent on us to do so.

I welcome the Minister's condemnation of actions in Palestine. I met the Palestinian ambassador to Ireland, who gave me a clear outline of further accelerated occupation activity by the Israeli forces.

I would also like to raise the matter of the Israeli practice of administrative detention. Conditions for detainees have worsened considerably due to the pandemic and visits have been suspended since March. There is poor sanitation. Prisoners' rights and children's rights are routinely violated with impunity by occupation forces. Administrative detention is a practice by which Israeli authorities detain Palestinians, including minors, without charge or trial. The detention period can be renewed every six months. Administrative detention is in violation of international law, primarily the Fourth Geneva Convention. Detainees do not get the opportunity to defend themselves in court. The reasons for their detention are rarely revealed to them, or are provided in Hebrew only. Some 30,000 detention orders have been issued in the past 30 years. There are currently 340 Palestinians in administrative detention. Over 120,000 Palestinians have been detained in the past 20 years, including 18,000 children. What is the Minister's position on administrative detention?

I thank the Minister again for attending. I express my condolences and those of the Fianna Fáil group on the death of Saeb Erekat. He was a young man; he died in his 60s. He will be a great loss to the peace process.