Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

To pick up on the issue of the mandate, we focused a lot on Russia and Ukraine. I was very struck by the number of missions in Africa, including Mali, Niger, Mozambique and the Sahel region. This is a large number of military actions taken by Europe. We were told that the language in the proposed legislation is directly taken from the Lisbon treaty, which talks about conflict prevention and strengthening international security. This is not just peacekeeping but also strengthening international security. These are clearly some of the interpretations that have been made by the EU. When we talked about the solemn promise and commitment that was made, it was not simply about who gets to decide where we deploy, it was about a guarantee of how the UN Charter would be interpreted. Clearly, with these missions, the EU is interpreting that it is allowed to strengthen international security under the UN Charter. On the other hand, the Irish public looked for the guarantee that it would be a UN body, including the General Assembly that might interpret the UN Charter. That is where the interpretation of the international law comes back to the core point of who interprets international law.

Regarding the examples Ms Ní Bhriain gave, is it the case that EU interpretation of international law or how it has interpreted its actions in strengthening international security, could potentially include actions in terms of interests? I am looking, for example, at the protection of commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Does the EU interpretation seem to include action for the protection of interests, including economic or commercial ones?

Regarding the General Assembly, will Mr. Kelly clarify whether, with 190 countries and if UNIFIL is cancelled perhaps a motion could be achieved at the General Assembly? We know that there have been very striking majorities in relation to the 190 countries' interpretation of international law and the UN Charter. Under the 2006 Act this does not compel us to act but allows Ireland to act.