David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for allowing me to contribute. I welcome our guests. I am sorry I am not in the room with them, but I have another meeting to attend straight after I speak.

A number of years ago, I was honoured to deliver the statement by Ireland at the 63rd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, CSW, as well as the session prior to that. I join our guests in acknowledging the work Ms Byrne Nason, our UN ambassador, and her team are doing. The Chairman and I have engaged with them a number of times and we were impressed with what they have done. I am pleased to hear they are continuing in that vein now that we have a seat on the Security Council.

A number of issues arise, the first of which is the Istanbul Convention and its implementation globally. Our guests might address this. As Ms Van Lieshout has stated, violence and war are occurring more frequently around the world. We are living in an awful time, one with a great deal of conflict around the world. Obviously, women and girls suffer much more in such situations.

Ms Van Lieshout referred to the impact of climate change. We have met people from the Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Nauru and elsewhere who are impacted by climate change. It affects Africa and Asia as well, where there are climate extremes. The impact of this on women and girls is disproportionate. They carry the brunt of it. Our guests might comment on this point.

We all feel helpless about what is happening in Afghanistan. The way in which women and girls there are being treated is appalling, not only for the reasons the guests set out, but for the loss of potential, talent and ability to the people of Afghanistan and the world. It is shocking. The Oireachtas has worked on gender pay reporting and gender budgeting, introduced laws criminalising coercive control and so on. While we must keep an eye on what is happening in Ireland, we must also be cognisant of what is happening abroad, which is the other extreme.

At some stage, the committee should invite the Front Line Defenders to a meeting. Mr. Sadlier mentioned human rights defenders. They have a great deal to say because they are on the front line.