Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to be here to begin this very timely debate on the grave situation in Syria, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. The year 2013 was very challenging for the international community, with three level 3 emergencies, which is the most serious humanitarian crisis designation by the United Nations. They involved two of the countries we are discussing today, Syria and the Central African Republic, as well as the Philippines in the immediate aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan.

To put it in context, no level three emergencies were declared in 2012 and this year an already overburdened international humanitarian system is called upon to respond to three such crises, each necessitating a massive surge in humanitarian operational capacity and increased funding. Dealing with so many humanitarian crises simultaneously puts a remarkable strain on the international community and, in particular, the United Nations, but I am pleased to be able to report that as a result of many of the reforms undertaken in recent years, as well as the lessons learned since dealing with the Asian tsunami in 2004, the international community is now far better equipped to deal with humanitarian crises of this magnitude than it was ten years ago. I am also pleased to be able to say that in each of these countries Ireland is playing a significant role, both bilaterally and through the European Union and the United Nations, to provide vitally needed funding and, in some cases, humanitarian personnel and stocks. I pay particular tribute to the many Irish citizens working in these countries with NGOs or the United Nations, often in very difficult and dangerous conditions. They make an incredible contribution and are the finest ambassadors for the country. I propose to speak on each of the countries in turn and look forward to an informative debate with Senators.

Let me begin with the biggest in scale of the current crises, the protracted and tragic conflict in Syria, which has resulted in unprecedented levels of humanitarian need, both within Syria and in neighbouring countries, requiring a sustained response from the international community. During my visit to Lebanon last year I was able to witness at first hand the desperate situation of Syrians forced to flee their homes and country as a result of the conflict. I was struck by the overwhelming generosity of Syria’s neighbours who, to date, have received more than 2 million refugees. I take the opportunity to acknowledge its generosity and humanitarian effort.

Earlier this month I represented Ireland at the second international pledging conference for Syria which took place in Kuwait. Ireland pledged a sum of €12 million towards the humanitarian response in Syria and neighbouring countries in 2014. The money will be disbursed in the coming 12 months to key UN partners, as well as the Red Cross movement and non-governmental organisation partners. It will support the provision of life-saving humanitarian supplies and essential services such as health, education and protection. Ireland’s funding is aimed at helping implementing agencies to address the crisis within Syria and neighbouring countries, particularly Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Once we honour this pledge, it will bring our total contribution to the relief efforts in Syria and the region since the start of the crisis approximately three years ago to more than€26 million. In addition to funding,Ireland has also provided humanitarian support for the region in the form of supplies of non-food items from our emergency relief stocks held in Dubai and specialist emergency personnel under the rapid response initiative. I refer to qualified personnel such as engineers and electricians.

While the immediate imperative is to respond to the escalating humanitarian needs on the ground, we must also persevere with our international efforts to find a sustainable political solution that is so desperately needed. The current Geneva conference represents the key opportunity to end this devastating conflict and save Syria and the Syrian people from further atrocities and destruction. We are under no illusions as to the scale of the task and the difficulty of finding common ground in such a divided country, but the Geneva conference represents the best chance to bring this conflict to an end. I know Senators will join me in hoping for real and tangible progress from the ongoing talks. Already we have seen some limited potential progress made on the promises of increased humanitarian access to the city of Homs and the proposed free movement of women and children.

South Sudan is the world's newest but also one of its poorest states, with an official population estimated at 8.26 million people. Years of conflict and underdevelopment, combined with seasonal flooding, frequent dry spells and frequent outbreaks of disease, mean that South Sudan remains a serious concern for the humanitarian community. Since its independence just three years ago, it has been plagued by a series of crises that have generated huge humanitarian needs - communal conflict, militia attacks, border disputes and natural disasters such as floods. Recent fighting between rival factions in South Sudan’s army has led to a serious crisis in what was already a difficult situation. Clashes followed what the government claims was an attempted coup in the capital, Juba, on Sunday, 15 December 2013. There are fears the unrest could trigger a wider ethnic conflagration in a nation awash with guns and still fragile after decades of war that led to its secession from Sudan two years ago. The current outbreak springs from a long-running power struggle between South Sudan’s President, former guerrilla commander Salva Kiir, and another former guerilla commander Riek Machar, whom Kiir sacked from his post of Vice President earlier this year.

Although the death toll remains unconfirmed, the international crisis group has estimated that the number of dead in the conflict may be close to 10,000; a major increase from earlier estimates by the United Nations. As of 23 January, the number of people reported to be displaced by the current crisis in South Sudan is more than 575,000, including 352,000 internally displaced persons, IDPs. This includes 76,100 sheltering in UN peacekeeping bases. That is in addition to the pre-existing caseload of 228,000 refugees in the conflict affected areas.

In 2013 Irish Aid provided €2.5 million for the UN-managed Common Humanitarian Fund, CHF, for South Sudan. In addition, more than €1.5 million in funding was disbursed to NGOs for humanitarian assistance across the country. In response to the current outbreak of conflict and resulting displacement, two airlifts totalling 45 tonnes of emergency supplies have been dispatched to South Sudan from our pre-positioned stocks in Ghana. The supplies consist mainly of blankets, jerry cans, tarpaulins, kitchen sets and mosquito nets and will be distributed by our NGO partner, Concern. The first of the shipments arrived in Juba on Monday, 13 January.

On the political front, it is encouraging to note that a cessation of hostilities agreement was signed in Addis Ababa last Thursday, 23 January. I hope it will calm things down and ease somewhat the task of addressing the humanitarian crisis. Nevertheless, local hostilities are still taking place.

The Central African Republic has a long history of instability, coups and protracted and often forgotten crises since its independence in 1960 from France. Ireland has a policy commitment to address humanitarian needs in protracted crises, particularly those like those in the Central African Republic, that are underfunded and do not receive the attention they deserve. In that regard, although the Central African Republic has only been hitting the world media headlines in recent months, Ireland has been engaged for a long period and one of the top ten international donors since 2007. We are a founder donor to the UN Common Humanitarian Fund for the Central African Republic and have provided €12 million for the fund since its establishment in 2008. For Ireland, this mechanism is essential in enabling us to meet the needs of a very vulnerable population in a co-ordinated and sustained manner. The current situation in the country is truly shocking, with literally the entire population being affected.

I am particularly appalled by the impact of the violence on children. The United Nations reports that “like adults, children have been victims of killings, disappearances, torture, ill treatment and sexual violence”. The recruitment of children by armed groups is also very disturbing. Last month, as the situation deteriorated gravely, I announced an allocation of €2 million in 2014 to support the United Nation’s efforts to provide food, water, shelter, health care and education for those in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. In addition, a member of Ireland’s rapid response corps has been deployed to the capital, Bangui, to support the vital work of UNICEF. I represented Ireland at an international conference jointly convened last week in Brussels by the United Nations and the European Union which represented an important opportunity for the international community to demonstrate its commitment to and solidarity with the people of the Central African Republic who have been affected by the crisis. On that occasion, too, the European Union agreed to send a force of 1,000 soldiers to the Central African Republic and that will happen in the coming days.

Again, I thank the Cathaoirleach for inviting me to the House. I look forward to hearing the contributions of Senators and will try to address the issues and concerns they raise at the conclusion of this debate.