Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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501. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which issues of drought, starvation, famine, abuse of human rights and the use of child soldiers remain for the United Nations and the European Union with particular reference to the Horn of Africa; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45681/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Food security, human rights and the use of child soldiers remain key concerns for the United Nations and the European Union, including in the Horn of Africa.

The region is facing severe food security challenges over the next six months. Unpredictable weather conditions, due to the current El Niño weather event, are already causing severe droughts and flooding in Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea. The severe weather is particularly affecting agricultural production, and is having a detrimental effect on people’s lives and livelihoods.

UN Agencies and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund are playing a key role in providing humanitarian assistance. The EU has provided funding to respond to the crisis through the European Development Fund and the EU humanitarian budget. Further EU support is likely to be provided through the recently established EU Trust Fund for Africa, to which Ireland is providing €3 million over the coming years.

Ireland has also scaled up our humanitarian responses to reduce the impact on households and save lives in the worst-affected places. Ethiopia, one of Ireland’s seven key partner countries in sub-Saharan Africa, has been particularly affected by the current drought. We have increased our bilateral programme in Ethiopia to nearly €28 million this year to address poverty, vulnerability and the impact of the crisis. An additional €1.8 million in humanitarian assistance was provided through NGO partners in Ethiopia. Since 2012, Ireland has provided a total of €60 million for humanitarian and emergency assistance programmes in the Horn of Africa.

The human rights situation in the Horn of Africa remains deeply worrying. The UN Human Rights Council has been active on several countries in the region, including Somalia, South Sudan and Eritrea. The EU promotes human rights in the region through its support to human rights NGOs, its work on women’s rights and support for a free and independent media. The recently adopted EU Horn of Africa Regional Action Plan highlights human rights, rule of law and democratic governance as priority issues for EU engagement. The EU has also appointed a Special Representative to the Horn of Africa to co-ordinate EU efforts in the region.

The Government also monitors the human rights situation in the Horn of Africa and we highlight our concerns bilaterally, through the EU, and in the UN Human Rights Council.

There are disturbing reports of the use of child soldiers in several countries in the Horn of Africa, particularly Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan. The UN is very active in this area, particularly through the work of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Children and Armed Conflict, Leila Zerrougui. The most recent UN Report on Children and Armed conflict listed 12 armed groups in the Horn of Africa that recruit and use children in armed conflict.

UN Special Representative Zerrougui and UNICEF launched the Children, Not Soldierscampaign last year to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children as soldiers. Several countries in the Horn of Africa - including security forces and armed groups in Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan - have made commitments under this campaign.

Ireland has engaged on this important issue through addressing the root causes of poverty and under-development and by supporting more targeted and specific interventions through UNICEF and the International Criminal Court. We have also intervened on the issue at the UN Human Rights Council.