Rebecca Moynihan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our friends and colleagues from Ukraine, the Ukrainian ambassador and the people in the Gallery who are watching these proceedings. I am pleased and honoured to welcome them to the Seanad on behalf of the Labour Party. I pay tribute to the bravery of all of our Ukrainian colleagues and the Ukrainian people and their dedication to a free, fair and independent democracy.

In recent weeks I have had occasion to reread a book I read in 2018 by Philippe Sands, an international scholar of human rights law. His grandfather, Leon, came from the city of Lviv. He wrote a book about two people who were the founders and key architects of human rights law, both crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity. Raphael Lemkin and Hersch Lauterpacht both came from that great city and lectured at the University of Kyiv. As our Ukrainian colleagues sit here and call for Russian troops to be recognised in an international court for their crimes against humanity and the use of items such as food as a weapon of war against the Ukrainian people, it is ironic for them to know that those two men who came from that Ukrainian city they come from were the architects post the Second World War of those international crimes against humanity.

With every day that goes by and every moment the abhorrent Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, the people of Ukraine suffer immense brutality, unlike anything most people in the world will ever know. There can be no doubt the acts of Putin and Russian forces are to destroy Ukraine, its history, lands, people and proud culture. The UN has reported that about 10,000 civilians have been killed to date at only 111 days into a war.That is a conservative estimate of what is happening on the lands of Ukraine. It is clear that no matter how many buildings are broken down and bombed, the spirit of the Ukrainian people is not dampened and will not be broken. The international community has offered strong solidarity to Ukraine but the current measures are not sufficient and need to go further. We in Ireland and in the broader international community must do more, particularly when it comes to food security and holding people to account for using food and rape as weapons of war, as they are doing in Ukraine. We must do all we can to stand in solidarity with Ukraine.

We continue to call on the Government and the European Union to strengthen sanctions against Russia, including, from Ireland, the expulsion of the Russian ambassador, strong support for the accession of the Ukraine to the EU and the enactment of Deputy Howlin's Magnitsky Bill, which will target Russian oligarchs and their ill-gotten gains.

Nearly 5 million Ukrainian refugees have spread throughout Europe from home. Across Ireland, we have welcomed Ukrainian refugees into towns, villages and cities. While I am sure many hope they will have the opportunity to safely return, as Philippe Sands's grandfather understands, often that does not happen in the case of refugees and they have to build their lives elsewhere. We need to make sure Ukrainians who have come here have safety and security in creating a home, whether temporary or permanent, in the coming years. We must put in place supports, educational, medical, residential and otherwise, so that Ireland is a safe, stable home for all refugees, including those from Ukraine. It has been 111 days since the brutal, illegal invasion of Ukraine began. That is 111 days of war crimes against humanity, unbelievable suffering and equally unbelievable strength demonstrated by the Ukrainian Members and their people. We stand with the people of Ukraine and will stand with them into the future to rebuild Ukraine as a free, independent and democratic nation.