Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputy Mick Wallace and his colleagues from the Independents 4 Change group on putting this very important motion before the House. It is to their credit that they bring to the floor of the Dáil a motion for debate on this awful and desperate crisis that has gone on for so many years. On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party I will be moving an amendment that outlines our concerns and abhorrence of the current conflict in Syria and the ongoing humanitarian, security and political matters arising from the conflict of so many years. The amendment condemns in the strongest possible manner the terrible loss of life and tremendous human suffering caused by the conflict, as well as the systematic, widespread and gross violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law by all parties involved with the conflict.

Understandably, we have consistently supported the work of the United Nations, the UN special envoy and the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva. We also support the European Union strategy on Syria and we want to see an inclusive transition in Syria involving all segments of society. Over the past number of years we have consistently called on the European Union to continue to intensify and increase its efforts to support the people of Syria. The European Union and all its member states must make every effort to bring the perpetrators of war crimes, human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law to justice. They must ensure those found guilty of such crimes would face the full rigours of the law. Like everybody else in the House and any right-minded person, we want to ensure all the international organisations increase their efforts to find a lasting political solution to this conflict and crisis.

As a member of the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee for the past six years, I can say we have discussed this matter on many occasions. We have also ensured different advocacy groups and representative organisations have had the opportunity to come before the committee and outline to us in great detail the humanitarian crisis and its basic denial of people's human rights. They have told us about the unbelievable suffering being inflicted on so many people. We have listened to many groups outline in great detail the abuse and denial of basic civil rights. We have also had the opportunity to ensure non-governmental organisations, NGOs, and representatives of Irish Aid could come before the committee to outline the work being carried out in those awful circumstances by so many people, including doctors, nursing staff, support personnel and others who are trying to provide humanitarian assistance to those people most in need. Deputies Crowe and Maureen O'Sullivan, who was here earlier, are members of the committee. On every occasion that we had an opportunity, we ensured that groups like Médecins Sans Frontières and others could come before us, allowing doctors and nurses to speak to the committee and outline in great detail the desperate conditions they have dealt with on the ground in such awful circumstances.

The conflict in Syria is now in its seventh year, as the Minister of State indicated. Since the war began in 2011, in excess of 400,000 people have lost their lives, with 5 million people fleeing Syria, 6.5 million people internally displaced and 13.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Syria is one of the world's worst humanitarian crises of all times and it has been described as a living hell. It is incumbent, to say the least, on all of us to voice our vehement opposition to such heinous crimes. We must oppose flagrant violations of international law and seek a sustainable and lasting resolution to the conflict based on a political transition, a reconciliation process and the reconstruction of Syria.

The Fianna Fáil Party has consistently supported the EU's aim of meaningful and inclusive transition in Syria in line with the 2015 UN Security Council resolution 2254, which sets a roadmap for a peace process in Syria, as well as the 2012 Geneva communiqué through support for the strengthening of the political opposition. It is imperative and necessary for a more concerted effort to be made to bring a resolution to this conflict. After all, it is in its seventh year and hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives. There has been and continues to be unbelievable human suffering. The European Union and the international community must redouble efforts and ensure this war is brought to a peaceful conclusion as soon as possible.

As I stated, the Syrian conflict has created one of the worst humanitarian crises of our time. Half of the country's pre-war population - more than 11 million people - have been killed or forced to flee their homes. The United Nations estimates 6.3 million people are internally displaced. Approximately 5.2 million people have been forced to seek safety in neighbouring countries, with 3 million Syrians having fled across the border into Turkey. Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq are home to very substantial numbers of refugees.

Since the start of the conflict the European Union and its member states have collectively allocated approximately €9.4 billion in humanitarian and development assistance, as the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, has noted. The EU's strategic objectives in Syria focus on six key areas. The first is an end to the war through a genuine political transition in line with United Nations Security Council resolution 2254, negotiated by the parties of the conflict under the auspices of the UN special envoy for Syria and with the support of key international regional actors. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2254 in December 2015 and reconfirmed its endorsement of the 30 June 2012 Geneva communiqué, also endorsing the Vienna statements in pursuit of the communiqué's implementation as the basis for a Syrian-led, Syrian-owned political transition to end the conflict. The European Union supports the work of the UN special envoy and the resumption of the talks in Geneva. Round eight of the intra-Syrian talks took place in Geneva on 28 November and the work plan for this round was framed by resolution 2254.

A second objective of the European Union is to promote a meaningful and inclusive transition in Syria in line with UN Security Council resolution 2254 and the Geneva communiqué through support for the strengthening of the political opposition. The political process must be fully inclusive to ensure all segments of Syrian society are involved with shaping Syria's future unity and reconciliation.

Another objective of the European Union is to save lives by addressing the humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable Syrians across the country in a timely, effective, efficient and principled manner. The European Union must seek to improve humanitarian access for the UN and other humanitarian organisations. On many occasions when we had representatives of NGOs and Irish Aid before us, we discussed in detail the difficulty in getting humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable and needy persons. Another objective of the European Union strategy is to promote democracy, human rights and freedom of speech by strengthening Syrian civil society organisations. Civil society must play a prominent role in post-conflict Syria, particularly in helping the reconciliation process. The European Council agreed to increase EU efforts to promote free speech, including through supporting free and independent media.

Another objective of the Council is to promote accountability for war crimes with a view to facilitating a national reconciliation process and transitional justice. The European Union will continue to work to ensure accountability for war crimes and human rights violations.

The Council also condemns the use of chemical weapons. That phrase we all use when discussing these issues, "human rights violations", is not strong enough to describe the horrors that have been inflicted on innocent people in this conflict. Another objective of the Council is to support the resilience of the Syrian population and Syrian society. The EU must continue to provide resilience support through the provision of education, job creation and support for local civilian governance structures.

On 18 January 2012, the European Council adopted a package of measures aimed at addressing the continued brutal repression and violation of human rights by the Government of Syria. On 29 May this year, the Council extended EU restrictive measures against the Syrian regime until 1 June 2018. This decision is in line with EU strategy on Syria, which states that the EU will maintain its restrictive measures against the Syrian regime and its supporters as long as the repression of civilians continues. The sanctions in place against Syria include an oil embargo, restrictions on certain investments, a freeze of the assets of the Syrian central bank within the EU, and export restrictions on equipment and technology that might be used for internal repression, as well as on equipment and technology for monitoring or interception of Internet or telephone communications. While Fianna Fáil supports the EU's strategy on Syria, it is essential that such sanctions do not cause suffering to ordinary Syrian civilians and that the EU continues to monitor the impact of sanctions to ensure they do not have unintended consequences.

We unreservedly condemn the attack on a convoy of busses transporting evacuees from the besieged towns of al-Fu'ah and Kafriya in north-west Syria last April that left more than 100 people dead, many of them children. It is imperative that the international community continues to gather and preserve evidence that can be used to bring those responsible for committing heinous crimes during this conflict to justice. Such evidence is needed for eventual use in fair and independent criminal proceedings, which we hope will take place in the future. It is imperative that the international community demonstrates that there are repercussions and a price to pay for those who commit war crimes and blatantly flout international human rights law. In this conflict, we have seen the use of chemical weapons, as referred to by Deputy Wallace, including in the chemical attack in Idlib on 4 April 2017 in which dozens of people were killed, including children. Those who have committed such atrocities should be formally investigated and, where found guilty, treated accordingly under the law.

We welcome Ireland's notable contribution to the humanitarian response to the Syrian conflict. Since 2012, the State has contributed more than €90 million to the humanitarian effort. The Government must continue to support the Syrian people and advocate at EU and international level for a political resolution to this conflict. We must seek to ensure the humanitarian aid we contribute to is delivered in an effective and efficient manner and that it gets to the people most in need. It is imperative that Europe does more to assist refugees who have been forced to flee and to uphold the rights of refugees and the international law that underpins those rights. When it comes to Ireland's contribution, we must ensure our words are matched by actions. At this juncture, however, it seems unlikely we will meet our commitment of accepting 4,000 refugees by the end of 2017. It will require every effort on the part of the Government to meet that target without further delay.

Peaceful anti-Government demonstrations began in Syria in March 2011 and quickly escalated following the violent crackdown by the state. Before long, armed opposition groups had begun fighting back. Divisions between secular and religious fighters, and between ethnic groups, continue to complicate the politics of the conflict. It is a conflict that has embroiled global and regional powers, allowed Islamic State to grab huge tracts of territory and caused the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War. The fighting is between soldiers who support the Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, fighters known as rebels who do not want the President to be in power anymore, and the group calling itself Islamic State. Outside parties became involved in the conflict in 2015. In December 2016, fighting in Aleppo intensified as Government forces took control of most of Aleppo from rebel groups. Turkey and Russia then brokered a ceasefire for eastern Aleppo to allow civilians to be evacuated. On 22 December 2016, it was announced that Government forces had taken control of the city, thereby ending more than four years of rebel rule. During the fighting, Aleppo was described as a living hell.

Unfortunately, my time has run out and I must conclude.

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