Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which he and his EU colleagues have made efforts to mobilise worldwide opinion with a view to bringing about an end to the hostilities in Syria with particular reference to the urgent need for the protection of civilians, the provision of international aid, the setting up of bodies such as international courts of inquiry into human rights violations and genocide; if the EU has made overtures to the UN in this regard; if all of the major players in the international community are positively focused on the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15505/13]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Syria has been the major issue discussed at the last two EU Foreign Affairs Council meetings in February and March, each of which I attended, as well as at the informal Ministerial meeting which I co-hosted with High Representative Ashton in Dublin on 22-23 March. The focus at these meetings was on the most appropriate steps which the EU can take in support of the ongoing efforts to achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict and to mitigate the worsening humanitarian situation.

Ireland and its EU partners have made clear that the EU strongly supports all efforts to bring about a peaceful and negotiated solution to the violence in Syria, notably those currently being undertaken by the UN/Arab League Joint Special Representative, Lakhdar Brahimi.

We also devoted considerable attention to reviewing the current EU sanctions which apply against Syria. At the 18 February Foreign Affairs Council, we agreed to renew the full range of existing sanctions for a further period of three months, until 1 June.

Accountability remains very important, in the context of the many war crimes and human rights violations that have been committed by all sides during the conflict. Ireland has been to the fore within the EU in supporting calls for the situation in Syria to be referred by the UN Security Council to the International Criminal Court. In January we joined 57 other UN members in co-signing a letter sent by Switzerland to the President of the UN Security Council which called for referral to the ICC. I also issued a joint statement on the same subject with my Austrian, Danish and Slovenian counterparts the same month.

As a new member of the UN Human Rights Council, we have been active during the Council’s most recent session in building support for a strong resolution on the current human rights situation in Syria. This resolution, which calls for referral to the appropriate international criminal justice mechanism in the case of gross human rights violations, was overwhelmingly adopted by the Council on 22 March.

The humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, leaving millions of Syrians, in and outside the country, in need of the most essential supplies and commodities. Ireland and its EU partners have considerably stepped up their contribution to the UN-led humanitarian relief operations; overall EU assistance, both from the Commission and member States, amounts to date to approximately €600 million while Ireland’s overall aid to Syria over the past year amounts to €7.1 million.

The conflict in Syria will remain a major priority for Ireland at all levels of our international engagement. We will certainly use whatever influence we have in our current EU Presidency role to support and promote European and UN efforts and initiatives towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict.