Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)
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I thank the ambassador for the detailed presentation she gave. I particularly appreciate that she outlined the impact of the war on civilians and framed it as a colonial war. Of course, colonialism, in all of its forms, is one of the greatest threats to the fundamental principles we have in the UN Charter, including the right to self-determination and other related international principles.

I will pick up on a couple of points that have been discussed. In trying to come to where Ireland plays a role, Ireland has been, of course, strong in its solidarity with Ukraine. It is strong and clear regarding international law and the fact that Russia’s illegal invasion is a blatant breach of it. It is about trying to find Ireland’s role and what is appropriate for Ireland in this area. It would be good to know whether there is an understanding of Ireland’s neutral status. Being a neutral country comes with a slightly different set of measures of support that we can bring. There are things Ireland can contribute. Neutral, of course, does not mean a country is not caring, involved, interested or engaged. Rather, it simply means that a country comes from a perspective where it will not engage militarily in a context outside of UN or international law and that it will apply international law to everyone. Ireland does not support Ukraine simply because it is a European country – although I believe Ukraine is a European country and I hope it will be a part of the EU soon – but we support it because it is a country that has suffered violations of international law. It is about that principle. It is that piece which drives our solidarity.

There are a couple of things the ambassador talked about which I wish to pick up on. With regard to the abduction of children, which we all agree is horrendous, the ambassador rightly identified that it has been recognised as a crime. Indeed, arrest warrants have been issued for Putin by the International Criminal Court in this regard. How important is it that the International Criminal Court is allowed to do its work? The International Criminal Court is under pressure. Many people feel the European Union should be using the blocking mechanism and other mechanisms to try to support the International Criminal Court to be able to continue its work and prosecutions in this kind of case. Of course, it is likely that there will be many more war crimes that will need to be prosecuted.

I highlight the Global Rights Compliance organisation as an example of the kind of thing Ireland can support. I know the EU currently supports it. That is an organisation, which has Irish staff working for it, that specialises in humanitarian criminal human rights law. It has mobile justice teams who provide legal advice, as I understand it, to the office of the prosecutor general in Ukraine and train persons to document breaches of international law, including sexual violence. Will the ambassador talk about that justice work, support for the work of documenting and effectively preparing for the prosecution of crimes and also the importance of the International Criminal Court being able to do its work?