Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I take the opportunity to say a few words and respond to some of the remarks of the Minister. As Senator Norris was right to say, this is a landmark day, not just for the Palestinian people but for all of those who adhere and aspire to international justice and solidarity. As a team, Sinn Féin in the Seanad is proud and happy to facilitate these Stages of the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018 via our Private Members' time. Sinn Féin has supported Senator Black's legislation on all Stages. We support it in practical terms and its outworking and we will again when it reaches the other House. The Bill has the noble and just aim of prohibiting the import and sale of goods, services and natural resources originating in illegal settlements in occupied territories. It is not extreme and seeks only to establish a legal framework to ban imports from settlements which are already illegal under international humanitarian law and, most important, domestic law. The Bill is important as it seeks to prohibit the sale of goods and services originating in illegal settlements on occupied land. Those goods and services are only available because of gross human rights abuses and violations of international law and they should not be available in Ireland.

A clear example of how the legislation would work is by stopping goods and services from illegal Israeli colonial settlements from entering the State. For decades, Israel has attempted to destroy the two-state solution by increasing massively the construction of illegal colonial settlements in Palestine. The building of these illegal colonial settlements violates international law and is a war crime, yet Ireland continues to trade freely with them. As long as we continue to hand the Israeli Government impunity to impose apartheid, continue its illegal occupation and violate international law, it will never make the necessary compromises to create a just and lasting peace settlement. The Irish Government must make a strong and unambiguous statement that there can be no impunity for Israel's continued illegal occupation of Palestine. Nothing will change in Gaza or the West Bank until the international community moves on from empty rhetoric to place real pressure on Israel.

The Government must stop sitting on the sidelines wringing its hands. When concrete and tangible steps are proposed, the Government is afraid to show leadership. Thursday, 29 November was the international day of solidarity with the Palestinian people. What a great message it would have been for the Palestinian people living under occupation and apartheid had the Government given unanimous support to the Bill in the Seanad on that day. The Government is hiding behind supposed legal advice from the Attorney General. I am sure other Members would, like me, love to see that advice. Senator Black has legal advice from Professor Takis Tridimas, an expert in EU law at King's College London and a practising barrister with an extensive record before the European courts, that the Bill is fully compatible with EU law. The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade should publish the advice of the Attorney General so that all parties could see the legal perspectives and make up their own minds. I am in no doubt that the Bill complies fully with EU trade rules and that we should, as a matter of urgency, pass it tonight.

The Bill does not focus on one occupation or country, its focus is solely on respect for international law. The legislation would apply to occupations and breaches of international law anywhere in the world on the basis of evidence and legal consensus. As mentioned on a previous Stage, there is a strong case for Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara to come under the remit of the Bill also. Colleagues will be aware that Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara is completely illegal under international law. The Sahrawi people have a right to self-determination and to decide their future democratically, but this has been denied them by Morocco. Morocco's occupation has been affirmed as illegal by international courts, most recently the Court of Justice of the European Union in February. In July 2018, the court further ruled that the EU's fisheries agreement with Morocco must not extend to Western Saharan waters. The EU is attempting to undermine the judgment of the court and to push ahead anyway. Sadly, the Irish Government has been silent. Sinn Féin opposes the fisheries agreement's application to Western Saharan waters as it opposes illegal occupation of Western Sahara itself.

I hope the Bill will be a vehicle to challenge both violations of international law outlined and, indeed, any others where they exist. I am proud Sinn Féin is able to facilitate the Bill which we support.