Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I welcome the opportunity to update the House on the current appalling situation in Syria and I thank Deputy John O'Mahony for raising the issue. All right-thinking people are offended by the continuing violence and blatant repression of human rights which are estimated to have claimed more than 10,000 lives in the past 15 months.

The situation in Syria was extensively discussed at yesterday's meeting of the European Union Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, which I attended. The Council adopted strong conclusions condemning the brutal violence and the recent massacres at Houla and Al-Qubair and urging the Syrian regime to cease killing its own civilians. The Council was united in the view that President Assad and his regime have no place in the future of Syria. The Council also discussed and strongly condemned last Friday's shooting down of a Turkish jet fighter by the Syrian forces. This incident illustrates well the serious regional ramifications of the Syrian crisis and how easily the conflict could spill over into neighbouring countries such as Turkey and Lebanon. I emphasised this point in my intervention as there is now widespread concern to ensure that the current rather fragile stability in Lebanon is not endangered by events in Syria.

In face of the repeated gross violation of human rights carried out almost on a daily basis, all Syrians are legitimately entitled to expect that those guilty of such atrocities must be held to account. These issues are being discussed at the current session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, at which Ireland and its EU partners are active and which is likely to adopt a strongly worded resolution on the human rights situation in Syria in the coming days. We have also made clear that we will support any referral of Syria to the International Criminal Court by the UN Security Council.

Deputy O'Mahony referred in particular to the situation of the six brave members of the Defence Forces who are participating in the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria, UNSMIS. At the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council yesterday I highlighted the critical situation of the UNSMIS. The operating difficulties faced by the mission were such that the force commander, General Robert Mood, had to suspend monitoring activities on 16 June. This came about in the face of escalating violence, a rise in completely unacceptable attacks on UNSMIS patrols and the constant obstruction of its activities. I understand, however, that as of yesterday UNSMIS has been able to resume conducting patrols and that the conduct of such patrols is being reviewed on a daily basis. I welcome this development. I expect the Syrian authorities to ensure from now on the full safety and freedom of movement of UNSMIS observers. In early July, the UN Secretary General will submit proposals to the UN Security Council and troop contributors on the future of the mission after its current mandate expires on 20 July. I earnestly hope that it will be possible for the mission to continue in some form beyond next month.

Despite the significant problems it is encountering, the Annan plan is thus far the only platform available to end the violence and to initiate a long-awaited political transition in Syria. We remain fully committed to this plan and to Kofi Annan's efforts to bring about a more concerted international response to the crisis. Closer engagement with Russia remains crucial in this regard. In the meantime, pressure must be increased on the Syrian regime to abide by its international obligations. The EU has already imposed extensive sanctions against Syria and further measures were adopted yesterday. At this stage, however, UN sanctions would be most effective, in particular, a comprehensive arms embargo to prevent arms getting through to both sides. I urge early action by the UN Security Council in this regard. The prospects for further increasing the pressure on the Syrian regime as well as encouraging greater unity and co-operation among the Syrian Opposition will also be considered at the next meeting of the Friends of Syria Group in Paris on 6 July, which I will attend.

The priority must be to end the violence and initiate some form of political process leading to transition in Syria. For the moment, we must continue to lend full support to the special envoy, Kofi Annan, the UN and the Arab League in their efforts to bring this about. Ending the conflict, not escalating it, remains the goal to which the international community must direct all its efforts.

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