Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Dr. Pierret has heard the views of committee members, which broadly reflect the views of most people in this and other parliaments in the West. Regarding the pressure for the implementation of a no-fly zone, can Dr. Pierret say why it has not happened? Will he elaborate on the barrel bombing and the effect it is having on civilians? It sounds like carpet bombing and must be taking a terrible toll on the civilian population. It is often said that truth is the first casualty of war. The civilian population is surely the second, particularly in this case.

One of the saddest aspects of this conflict is the almost total helplessness of the global community in dealing with it. Of course, it is always very difficult to deal with a situation where a person has been elected within a so-called democracy. It is very difficult for the international community to get involved in regime change. The morality of that issue has been discussed at this committee many times. Allied to that is the reality that not everybody who has been elected democratically down through the centuries has proven subsequently to be a democrat. Those issues must all be borne in mind.

The extent to which the international community, including the European Union, Russia and Iran, seems invariably to be helpless in bringing any influence to bear on any perpetrator or series of perpetrators in defence of civilian populations is an issue of grave concern to this committee. There seems to be no deterrent or warning sufficient to convince certain regimes in conflict situations that what is happening is not acceptable internationally. One possible exception might be the former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, who did receive his comeuppance, albeit after a great deal of strife. To what extent does the United Nations need to revise its thinking, attitude and policies in order to ensure that where atrocities of the nature we are seeing in Syria occur, there will be intervention to protect the civilian population and retribution for such atrocities? It is very sad that this particular conflict is being overshadowed by other conflicts, which are serving to deflect public attention away from what is happening there.