Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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500. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if Irish humanitarian aid allocated for health care can be used to provide abortions for women and girls raped in conflict areas; if there is any prohibition in the use of development aid in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24518/15]

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Through the Irish Aid programme, we are committed to helping save lives in emergencies and prevent human rights abuses, including violence against women. We support key partners, including the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), to provide essential medicines, emergency obstetric care, and post-rape supports in humanitarian crises. This support is based on Ireland’s firm commitment to the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) agreed in Cairo in 1994. The Programme of Action highlights the need for protection from sexual and gender based violence in emergency humanitarian situations and the provision of appropriate health care, including sexual and reproductive health care and information, counselling and psychosocial supports.

The Programme of Action also affirms that abortion should not be promoted as a method of family planning and that the legal provisions on abortion are sovereign decisions for each state through its national legislative processes. Similarly, UNFPA has a clear and longstanding policy that it does not promote abortion or provide assistance for abortion services or abortion-related equipment and supplies as a method of family planning.

The Government’s Policy for International Development reaffirms our commitment to promoting universal access to reproductive healthcare in accordance with the Programme of Action of the ICPD. Strengthening health care systems and access to family planning are important elements of our global work to tackle maternal mortality. In humanitarian emergencies, where health systems are often weakest, we are supporting partners such as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), who are playing a critical role in health emergencies. Ireland is also playing a leading role in combatting sexual and gender based violence. Our continued commitment to preventing and responding to sexual and gender based violence in situations of conflict was reaffirmed with the launch of Ireland’s Second National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade earlier this year.