Katherine Zappone (Independent)

I welcome the Minister and the secretary general of the OSCE. My comments bring a human rights lens to this exchange. This week I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Anne Anderson, Ireland's ambassador to the United Nations. She is working closely with the Minister in Ireland's efforts to be elected to the Human Rights Council, as the Minister outlined. Should we succeed, it would be a prime opportunity to contribute to strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights throughout the globe. It is the Minister's vision which has set Ireland's sights on this position, which I acknowledge. It is crucial because just as we seek to be a robust, albeit small, player at the international economic table, so too do we seek this role at the international human rights table. This can only be good for Ireland's efforts at national recovery as we attempt to make our mark socially as well as economically in the international arena.

Seeking membership of the Human Rights Council is a tough challenge, as the Minister knows, because we are competing against the USA, Germany, Sweden and Greece. Therefore, it is critical to ask why UN member states would vote for us. It is critical to lead by example. In this context, I acknowledge our human rights reputation, to which the Minister referred. I also note that Ireland's meeting with the Human Rights Council in March to formalise our agreed recommendations for the universal periodic review is particularly significant. Will the Minister confirm that at this meeting Ireland will indicate when it will ratify the UN disability convention? It is unclear why it has already taken four years to bring the convention into force.

Ireland's vision for the Human Rights Council's role is also pertinent to seeking election, an issue to which the Minister referred. I have several questions in this regard. Will the Minister outline how he thinks the Council ought to respond to the events of the Arab Spring? How can the Council be supportive of the democratic changes under way and ensure the representation and participation of women are not sidelined? This is of concern to the UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Ms Wahlström.

I note the recent words of US Secretary of State, Mrs. Hillary Clinton, that issues of freedom, dignity and equality of LGBT people comprise one of the remaining human rights challenges of our time. Allied to this, President Obama recently gave a direction for US embassies throughout the world to partner their host country to support LGBT people. I am working closely with the US Embassy in this regard. Will advancing LGBT rights be a priority for Ireland if we are successful in our campaign for election to the Human Rights Council?