Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have discussed a lot of areas in something of a comprehensive way. I would like Tánaiste to focus very briefly, if he could, on the position of children and young people, because that is a common theme running through what has happened over the last while and, indeed, looking at Ukraine and the earlier contribution by Senator Joe O'Reilly. He spoke about children in Ukraine and those being kidnapped and forcibly taken to Russia. That is regarded, undoubtedly, under international law as a war crime. Looking, for example, at the murder and massacre at the music festival, the focus of that attack was children and young people, who were brutally murdered and maimed in a cold-blooded manner. It is the same with the hostages. What is being done in relation to what must in any reasonable mind be regarded as the unconditional release of all hostages? Again, the vast majority are children and young people. We need to remind the international community, and ourselves, of the strict prohibition under international law on any hostage-taking, which is a grave breach of the Geneva Convention and all international law. I would ask the Tánaiste, when speaking to his colleagues, to underscore the need to ensure that war crimes, specifically against children, must stop. We must remember that the attack of last Saturday week was specifically aimed at innocent young people attending a music festival with no regard to the politics or the partisanship of the situation.