Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. It is my first time to address the Seanad and for that I am extremely grateful for this opportunity. I hear what the Senator says. I hear the passion in her voice and her commitment to this issue. As the Senator has already said, Ireland is strongly committed to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.We should and do take pride in the fact the text of that convention was agreed at a diplomatic conference chaired by Ireland in Dublin in 2008. We fully recognise the value of the convention. Since the convention was adopted the market for, and production of, cluster munitions have contracted significantly. More than that, the convention has also produced a stigmatising effect on the use of cluster munitions among non-state parties.

Ireland will continue to work towards a full universalisation and implementation of the convention. As a sign of our active support, Ireland has made additional voluntary contributions to the implementation support unit of the Convention on Cluster Munitions to further its important work. We maintain active engagement through meetings of the states parties, the 13th of which is this year, and at intercessional meetings such as the upcoming meeting in Geneva in early April. Ireland's consistent and principled view is disarmament conventions are not for peacetime only and that it matters how wars are fought. Cluster munitions are by their nature indiscriminate and imprecise, continue to kill and maim long after the conflict is over and should not be used in any circumstances.

The Russian Federation's ongoing illegal war of aggression on Ukraine has created serious security challenges for Europe and Ireland is not immune to these challenges. The altered security environment affects all of us regardless of geography. However, the Government is conscious of the particular security concerns felt by states neighbouring Russia, including Lithuania. Lithuania took a sovereign decision to leave the Convention on Cluster Munitions just six months ago. This followed domestic considerations and democratic debate on the increased security threats, national military advice and a supermajority vote of the national parliament in which only one member voted against leaving. The decision took effect on 6 March this year when Lithuania became the first and, we hope, the only state party to leave the convention.

Lithuania knows Ireland's principled stance on cluster munitions well, including in the contest of Russia's war in Ukraine. Ireland has continued to support Ukraine and its people in the face of Russian aggression. In line with Ireland’s consistent support for our obligations under the Convention on Cluster Munitions the Department of Foreign Affairs has communicated Ireland's concerns to our Lithuanian partners. Ireland’s views were further conveyed by then Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, during her visit to Vilnius last September. We have also conveyed our views alongside other representatives of states parties to the convention through the Irish Embassy in Vilnius. From those discussions we know this decision was not easy for Lithuania and not taken lightly. As an EU member state committed to the international rules-based order and the rule of law, Lithuania chose to leave the Convention on Cluster Munitions rather than breach its obligations. While we of course wish Lithuania had decided to remain within the convention, we acknowledge the openness with which our Lithuanian colleagues treated this difficult decision.

Ireland is committed to upholding disarmament regimes, including the Convention on Cluster Munitions, and we will continue to be a vocal advocate for the convention.