Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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222. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he is aware of the outcomes of the World Humanitarian Summit which took place on the 23 and 24 May 2016; his views on the outcomes; the additional action Ireland will take as a result of this summit, and if this action focus on meeting the needs of men, women and children facing decades of displacement. [12235/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The first ever World Humanitarian Summit which took place in Istanbul on 23 and 24 May 2016 was called for by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in the last year of his tenure. President Michael D. Higgins and Minister of State Joe McHugh represented Ireland at the Summit. Some 5,000 participants attended, including 50 Heads of State and Government, other global leaders, civil society organizations, private sector and affected communities. In advance of the Summit, the UN Secretary General set out his vision for the Summit in his Report for the World Humanitarian Summit which included an ‘Agenda for Humanity'.This report built on the commitments adopted in Agenda 2030 by world leaders at the UN list September, in particular the commitment to ‘leave no one behind’. It outlined the Core Commitments needed to achieve the Secretary General’s vision. The Report is framed around five Core Responsibilities: Providing political leadership to prevent and end conflicts; Upholding the norms that safeguard humanity; Leaving no one behind; Changing people’s lives by moving from delivering aid to ending need; and Investing in humanity.

At the Summit, global leaders discussed how to effectively respond to these major humanitarian challenges. Some of the priority issues included: a new global approach to manage forced displacement, with an emphasis on ensuring hope and dignity for refugees or internally displaced people, and support for host countries and communities; empowering women and girls, and catalysing action to gender equality; adapting new approaches to respond to protracted crises and recurrent disasters; securing adequate and predictable finance to save lives and alleviate suffering; reinforcing the centrality of protection in humanitarian action; increasing respect for International Humanitarian Law; and adapting to new challenges through local, inclusive, and context-specific responses.

At the Summit, Ireland endorsed the Core Commitments set out in the Agenda for Humanity,and set out an additional 35 specific commitments which we will take forward in the period ahead. Included in Ireland’s commitments is an increased focus on the needs of displaced communities, including a focus on providing greater educational and livelihood opportunities.