Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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645. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the measures being taken at a national and European Union level to address the persecution of women and the abuse of female human rights across the world; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7089/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Ireland has a strong track record in addressing gender equality through its foreign policy and development cooperation programme, and remains fully committed to combating all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls. Through our international engagement on human rights at the United Nations Human Rights Council and the Third Committee of the General Assembly, Ireland advocates for gender equality and combatting all forms of discrimination. We have used our membership of, and participation in, discussions at these UN bodies to negotiate and support resolutions on the elimination of discrimination against women; violence against women; female genital mutilation (FGM); preventable maternal mortality and morbidity; realising the equal enjoyment of the right to education by every girl; strengthening efforts to prevent and eliminate child, early and forced marriage and women human rights defenders. We have also raised our concerns regarding the situation of women in specific countries during our interventions at the Universal Periodic Review where the human rights records of individual states are reviewed by other UN Member States. As part of our commitment to advancing gender equality, Ireland played a key role in the establishment of UN Women, and is an active participant in the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). On 5 April 2016 Ireland was elected as a member of the CSW for the 2017-2021 term. This will be our first term of membership of the CSW and an important opportunity for Ireland to further enhance our contribution to the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

We are also a longstanding advocate for the Women, Peace and Security Agenda at the UN while the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment is also an integral part of our policy on disarmament. Ireland’s policy on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 is framed in its 2nd National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security which is an inter- and intra-departmental policy initiative that seeks to promote the protection of the human rights of women and girls living in Ireland and abroad, the empowerment of women in decision-making and participation, the prevention of conflict including sexual and gender-based violence and the promotion of the Women, Peace and Security agenda in relevant international fora.

Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are priorities in our official development assistance programme. All recipients of Irish Aid funding are required to demonstrate their commitment to these goals. Both bilaterally in our engagement with partner countries, and at the UN and in other multilateral bodies, we consistently emphasise the importance of gender mainstreaming as a key aspect of ending poverty, hunger, discrimination and vulnerability across the globe.

Ireland also actively supports EU engagement on gender equality. On 20 July 2015, the EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) adopted the EU Action Plan for Human Rights and Democracy 2015-2019 and I welcome the commitment in this Plan to prioritising the protection of the rights of women and protection against gender-based violence. Measures taken at national level are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Justice and Equality, and our respective Departments cooperate closely on these issues.