Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is broad agreement that the only possible future to what is the most dangerous and destabilising crisis in the Middle East, given the number of people who have been displaced or killed, is work that will deliver de-escalation. To that end, the United Nations special envoy, Staffan de Mistura, is working to attempt the extremely difficult task of promoting a graduated de-escalation proposal based on local conflict freezes, almost to break off pieces of the conflict to ascertain whether they can be addressed. It is hoped this will create conditions for political negotiations that may lead to ending the conflict. However, the Deputy is correct. This initiative is proving extremely difficult to implement on the ground in the face of military actions by all parties now concerned. The aspirations of the communiqué are a million miles away from what is happening on the ground and the collapse of the legitimacy and authority of state institutions across much of Syria, just as happened previously in Iraq, has created conditions that have allowed for the emergence of radical non-state groups and in particular the violent extremist Sunni groups known as ISIS or ISIL. One must hope that Staffan de Mistura can achieve his ambition. There was significant discussion on the matter recently at the Foreign Affairs Council, as well as support for his ambition to try to create these conflict-free zones to allow some attempt at conflict negotiation.

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