Susan O'Keeffe (Labour) | Oireachtas source

We all fully support the motion and it is one of those matters which we will continue to discuss. In 2008, the UN Security Council demanded that all sides in armed conflicts should stop using violence against women as a tactic in war. We find ourselves saying it again today. The challenge for the Minister of State is what this country can actually do beyond speaking about this matter and saying that we care about it.

The Norwegians have taken it upon themselves to invest money in this area. They have looked at particular strategies, including a national strategy to combat sexualised violence. In this respect, they are obviously referring to the Congo where, as we know, there is a desperate and urgent need.

In addition, the Norwegians are financing a hospital in Goma which is due to open soon. It is being located there in order to offer some sustenance and assistance to women - as well as children and men - who find themselves in this state. They have also opened a new training centre for women to encourage them to talk and to educate them. In that way, women can begin to take some control over what has happened to them. They have opened mobile courts to give survivors appropriate access to the justice system. Some 89 judges have been trained and while it is not very much it is a start. It is better than us just talking. While the international community needs to know that we care, and we do, we also need to find ways to do something about it.

Norway has participated in the international working group on the illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Great Lakes region, which is a collaborative matter. I know that our finances are tight and we are trying to find best value, but Ireland must find a way. That might be done by working in collaboration with other countries which have already set up systems, rather than trying to establish our own. We could therefore show by our actions, as we have done many times in the past, that we are willing and able to come to the assistance of the thousands of people - mainly women and children - who are raped and otherwise sexually abused in conflict zones across the world, but particularly in Africa.