Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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434. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which the international community remains focused on the issues in Syria, with particular reference to the need to address the ongoing violence against civilians; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38225/14]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Ireland remains fully committed to a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Syria. Although reaching a political resolution is a difficult challenge, it remains the best option and the only alternative to the further intensification of the military conflict.

Ireland, and its international partners, are committed to working with the new UN Special Representative Mr Staffan di Mistura in his task of pursuing a negotiated end to the conflict. The UN will continue to play a central role in efforts to chart a political resolution to the conflict in Syria, in conjunction with the members of the UN Security Council and all relevant international and regional stake-holders, including the EU.

We support Resolutions 2139 and 2165 on the humanitarian situation in Syria which were approved by the UN Security Council earlier this year and for which we had been calling for since last autumn. The latest report on the implementation of Resolution 2139 sets out very clearly that the fundamental obstacles to the provision of humanitarian assistance remain in place across Syria, and that the parties to the conflict remain in breach of international law. These resolutions make absolutely clear the obligations and duties on all parties, especially the Assad regime, to uphold humanitarian principles and international law. Full compliance without any further delay by all parties is the only acceptable response to their adoption.

The growth of extremism and the threat posed by ISIS and other jihadist groups to the people of Syria and Iraq was extensively discussed at the UN General Assembly which I attended last week. As I made clear in my address to the General Assembly, there can be no complacency within the international community about the threat which ISIS and other extremists represent or about the need for urgent international action to confront this threat to us all.

UN Security Council Resolutions 2170 and 2181 adopted in recent weeks require all UN Member States to implement comprehensive measures to address the threat of terrorism including through such measures as taking active steps to prevent travel by persons suspected of planning or intending to participate in terrorist acts; cooperation in exchanging information on actions and movement by terrorists; prevention of recruitment and radicalisation of possible members of such groups, including through community outreach initiatives, and denying financial transfers to terrorist groups; and supporting the provision of bilateral assistance to States in developing national capacities to respond to foreign terrorist fighters. The Foreign Affairs Council meeting which I attended on 15 August has also welcomed the provision of military support by individual member States to the Iraqi and Kurdish regional authorities at their request to combat terrorism, consistent with the provisions of UN Security Council resolution 2170.

Ireland has so far disbursed over €28 million in humanitarian relief since the beginning of the Syrian conflict. The denial of access for humanitarian relief to the civilian population by the parties to the conflict is unacceptable and must end. So must such barbaric practices as besieging communities and attempting to starve them into submission.

There must be full accountability for the very many horrific violations of human rights perpetrated against the Syrian people throughout this long conflict. We have consistently called on the UN Security Council to refer the many allegations of war crimes to the International Criminal Court and very much deplore the use of the veto by two Security Council members last May on a resolution calling for referral to the International Criminal Court.