Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is good to be back in meetings in person, and I look forward to many more sessions on the issues that will be raised today. I thank the committee for the invitation to the meeting. I will say a few words at the outset on a selection of significant issues which have featured on the agendas of the EU Foreign Affairs Council and the UN Security Council since I met the committee to discuss these topics last May.

In September, Ireland served as President of the UN Security Council for the first time since October 2001. This will be the only time we hold the presidency during our current term and therefore the month offered a unique opportunity to advance our priorities. First and foremost, we succeeded in adopting a groundbreaking resolution on UN peacekeeping transitions. This ensures the UN is properly prepared for the shift from peacekeeping to peacebuilding. The resolution was co-sponsored by 97 member states, including the council's five permanent members. I believe I am correct in saying this was also the first time Ireland got a thematic resolution passed at the Security Council, so it was a significant achievement. I believe it is only the second time we have got any form of resolution that Ireland authored agreed in the Security Council.

We also convened a landmark debate at the level of Heads of State and Government on the linkages between climate change and security, chaired by the Taoiseach. We have initiated negotiations on a new resolution. The council has never before adopted a resolution on the relationship between climate change and international peace and security. If we can achieve this, it will pave the way for the council to take concrete actions to address climate-related security risks for the first time. Truth be told, denying there is a risk now with what is happening in parts of the world that are deeply impacted by climate change and conflict, where climate change is an accelerator of that conflict and tension, is really not a credible position any longer, so I hope we will be able to get agreement on a wording for a resolution in this space.

In line with Ireland’s long-standing commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, we also convened and chaired a council meeting to mark the 25th anniversary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty towards the end of our month-long presidency.

The presidency was not just an opportunity to advance Ireland’s specific priorities. Our main responsibility was to manage the council’s programme of work, and we chaired discussions on Libya, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and the Middle East peace process. I personally chaired a meeting of the Security Council on the situation in Afghanistan, and our team in New York successfully led negotiations to extend the mandate of the UN assistance mission in Afghanistan at what was a critical period. Managing the council’s work in September also allowed us to present our vision of how the international community should address peace and security issues. We set a record for the number of women civil society representatives to brief the council in a month. There were 17 briefers during the meetings we organised that month and 16 of them were women. I think those numbers are right and Ms Hyland will correct me if I am wrong. Instead of just discussing in the abstract the effects of conflict on women and girls, the council got to listen to their voices directly.

Before moving on from the presidency of the Security Council, I should point out that we have an extraordinary team in New York. The more I work with it, the more I realise its members are a mixture of experience and very smart young people. We have a team of almost 50 people who are working week-in, week-out on ensuring Ireland has an impact on the big global debates. They are led by an extraordinarily able person, but there is so much talent on that team, it is worth reflecting on it in this committee as well as thanking them for their work. They have done an extraordinary service to the State.

I will proceed to some other topical matters in which members have an interest. On the Middle East, I am attending this meeting having just returned from a week in the Middle East, after meeting political leaders from Palestine, Israel and Jordan. The escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine in May served as a reminder of why continued engagement on the Middle East peace process is vital. I addressed the UN Security Council and an emergency meeting of foreign ministers at that time and called again for the immediate cessation of hostilities, protection of civilians and compliance with international humanitarian law on all sides. The Dáil at that time also passed a motion characterising Israel’s actions of ongoing settlement expansion and the demolition of Palestinian homes and infrastructure in the West Bank as de facto annexation. Over recent months, actions on the ground continue to undermine any effort to engage meaningfully with a political resolution.

In my meetings with President Herzog of Israel and Foreign Minister Lapid, I gave the clear message that Israel must immediately halt these actions and start to take concrete and sustained confidence measures to begin to rebuild some of the trust that has been lost in recent years. Those meetings were good, direct and constructive. It is important the Irish Government seeks to build a relationship with the new Israeli Government, which has very different views and perspectives within it. There are many in the Israeli Government with whom I believe we can build a strong and positive relationship. In reflecting on my meetings in Israel, which were at times somewhat confrontational but always respectful, there is a very strong sense in Israel that there is an issue with antisemitism in Ireland. While some people might not want to hear that, it is important to say it. I do not believe Irish people are antisemitic and we have to be clear in our language if and when we criticise Israeli policy, and we do it regularly, particularly towards Palestinians as regards settlements, demolitions, forced evictions and many other issues in terms of a peace process that is not moving forward.

We must distinguish in the language we use between being critical of Israeli Government policy and giving the impression we are in some way anti-Israel or, indeed, anti-Jewish. That is something that, from my perspective, would be unacceptable. Sometimes, through the language used in the Dáil and Seanad, lines are crossed that should not be crossed. I ask people to reflect on that. We can and must be a strong, clear and consistent voice on the Middle East peace process, which advocates for international law, international humanitarian law and finding ways to move a peace process forward.

We also have to be careful in terms of the danger of sending signals. I mean that being critical of Israeli Government policy sometimes is taken as a signal of being anti-Israeli and the lines are blurred lines. If we are not careful with the language that we use that can stray into antisemitism. I have had many conversations on this issue in Israel I think are a cause for concern and we need to reflect on that.

My conversations with the Palestinian Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister were very positive and constructive. I made clear my view that democratic renewal and a clear path to elections in Palestine are essential to renewing the legitimacy and credibility of the Palestinian Authority, not least in the minds of its own people but also in the context of its relationship with the outside world. I made it very clear Ireland is there to help and support those efforts.

In both Israel and Palestine I met a wide variety of civil society, academic and media partners. In Jordan, I had detailed discussions with Foreign Minister Safadi about Jordan’s crucial role in the Middle East peace process, Syria and other regional issues. I also had an opportunity with him to formally open Ireland’s new embassy in Amman.

The prospect of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East is of enormous concern. The Iranian nuclear agreement, or the JCPoA as it is called, is a vital safeguard in protecting the Middle East. I have engaged extensively with the partners to the JCPoA in the context of Ireland's role as facilitator of the relevant resolution in the UN Security Council, which is the basis for the JCPoA.

I am encouraged by the approach of the US, which has set out its clear intention to return and engage intensively in parallel talks in Vienna between March and June. I am, however, deeply concerned by Iran's continuing breaches of its commitments. I met the new Iranian foreign minister in September and urged Iran to return swiftly to talks and to full compliance with its obligations. It is positive the talks are due to begin at the end of this month in Vienna. I encourage all sides to make progress while there is still time.

I would like to say a few words about the situation in Ethiopia, which is of grave concern to me. The events of the past year in Ethiopia have resulted in a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe. While responsibility for ending the conflict rests with all of the parties, there is a moral imperative for the international community to take action. As de facto penholder on this file at the Security Council, we have worked tirelessly both in New York, with partners in the region and with parties to the conflict, to push for unhindered humanitarian access, an immediate cessation of hostilities and a negotiated solution through dialogue. Ireland led the negotiation of last Friday's UN Security Council statement that warned of incitement to violence by the use of inflammatory hate speech, and called for respect for international humanitarian law and support for the efforts of the African Union special envoy, former President Obasanjo.

The publication of the joint report last week, by the UN Human Rights Office and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, confirmed that abuses, some of which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, have taken place in Tigray over a sustained period. EU foreign ministers will again discuss the situation next week, including the possible use of the global human rights sanctions regime in the light of the findings of the joint report.

There are a number of other important issues that have been in focus in recent months, with which members will be familiar, not least Syria, where Ireland plays a key role on the humanitarian access file; Lebanon, where our engagement on the UNIFIL mandate has been critical; and Afghanistan, where the humanitarian situation is of increasing concern. I am happy to discuss any of these issues in as much detail as members so wish when we have questions and answers.

I thank the committee members for their continued engagement on these and other foreign policy issues, and I look forward to their questions.