Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 34, 35, 55 and 68 together. The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, UNDOF, was established on 31 May 1974 under United Nations Security Council Resolution 350 (1974) following the agreed disengagement of the Israeli and Syrian forces in the Golan Heights in May 1974. UNDOF was established to maintain the ceasefire between Israel and Syria, to supervise the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces and to supervise the areas of separation and limitation, as provided in the May 1974 agreement on disengagement. Since 1974, the mandate of UNDOF has been renewed every six months, most recently in June 2017. In a recent report on UNDOF, the UN Secretary General stated that the presence of UNDOF in the area continues to be essential and recommended that the Security Council should extend the mandate of UNDOF for a further period of six months until 31 December 2017. The Syrian Arab Republic gave its assent to the proposed extension and Israel also expressed its agreement. A contingent of the Permanent Defence Force has been deployed to UNDOF on the Golan Heights since 2013. The contingent operates in the role of a quick reaction force. The current contingent - the 55th Infantry Group - deployed to UNDOF in early April and the next contingent is due to deploy in October.

I had the privilege of visiting Irish personnel based in the Middle East in March 2017. I met the UNDOF head of mission and force commander, Major-General Shanker Menon of India, as well as Irish personnel deployed to the mission headquarters. It was a valuable opportunity to be briefed on the mission and to see at first hand the challenges facing troops in the mission area. On 26 April 2017, while representing Ireland at an informal meeting of Defence Ministers in Malta, I met the UN Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping, Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix. We agreed that the presence of the UNDOF mission remains an important element in ensuring the continuing ceasefire between Israel and Syria and in the wider Middle East region. The valuable contribution the Defence Forces are making to this mission was acknowledged. The UN Under-Secretary General took note of the security concerns I outlined to him regarding the return of troops to the area of separation. Pending the full return of UNDOF to the area of separation, UNDOF has continued to maintain a credible presence in the Golan Heights in line with its mandate. On 14 November 2016, UNDOF completed the initial phase of the incremental return of the mission to Camp Faouar on the Syrian side of the area of separation where Fijian and Nepalese troops are now based. The incremental return to the area of separation will be considered in the light of the security assessment and other required assurances. As with all missions, deployments and developments in the UNDOF area of operation are kept under ongoing review.

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