Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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152. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts of the international community to set up safe havens for persons displaced by war in the Middle East region, given the urgent need to address this in a positive way; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12374/16]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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156. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if the European Union and the United Nations are addressing the refugee crisis in Syria; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12379/16]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 152 and 156 together.

I have long made clear that the best means of protecting the Syrian people from the effect of violence is to reach a sustainable political agreement, based on the principles of the 2012 Geneva communique. I have repeatedly made clear, including to UN Secretary-General Ban and UN Special Envoy de Mistura, that Ireland strongly supports the efforts of the UN to reach a negotiated agreement. I call for all parties to return to the UN-sponsored talks and work sincerely for a comprehensive agreement to end the conflict.

I share the views expressed by UN Under-Secretary General Stephen O’Brien in his statement of 4 May 2016, specifically concerning Syria, in which he stated that all parties must finally and unequivocally live up to their obligations under international humanitarian law and the demands of the Council’s resolutions.

It is my position that the United Nations, and in particular the UN Security Council, has the authority to act to protect civilians from violence. I have welcomed efforts by the UN and UN Security Council resolutions, including resolution 2254 of December 2015, to promote a political solution to the Syrian conflict, ensure humanitarian access for those in need and end the violence. The UN has also set out a basis for international action to counter the threat to the populations of Syria and Iraq from Daesh and Al-Qaeda terrorism under Security Council resolution 2249.

I reiterate Ireland’s call for an end to impunity for those committing war crimes and our support for referral of the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court by the UN Security Council. The International Criminal Court is the only means to ensure accountability for such crimes against civilians.

With regard to the issue of addressing the wider refugee crisis globally in a more positive way, the UN General Assembly will host a high level summit meeting to address large movements of refugees and migrants on 19 September 2016, with the aim of bringing countries together behind a more humane and coordinated approach. It is widely acknowledged that large forced displacements of populations is now a global crisis that requires a collective effort by the international community. In February the president of the UN General Assembly appointed Ireland’s Ambassador to the UN David Donoghue and his Jordanian counterpart to serve as co-facilitators of the 19 September meeting.

Ireland will engage constructively in the forthcoming inter-governmental negotiations to agree an outcome for the Summit, which we are confident will be a strong statement of the collective will of the international community to address the ongoing crisis in a humane and effective manner.

On 18th March the European Union reached a political agreement designed to end the irregular migration from Turkey to the EU in the form of an EU-Turkey statement agreed by the Heads of State or Government. Turkey agreed to readmit from Greece all irregular migrants and to protect them in accordance with international standards; to tackle people smugglers and to help prevent new migratory routes to the EU opening up. For its part, the EU agreed to resettle Syrians currently in Turkey on a “one-for-one” basis where other Syrians are returned from Greece. The core intention of the agreement is to break the business model of the people smugglers who are profiting from the suffering of the vulnerable, and to stop migrants attempting the treacherous journey across the Aegean Sea. The need to comply with international humanitarian law on the protection of refugee rights was a key aspect of the agreement with Turkey. The legal advice received by the EU institutions is that there is such compliance.

Accordingly, any irregular migrant coming from Turkey who applies for asylum in Greece will have their application processed on a case by case basis in line with international and EU law. Under the Statement there will be no blanket and no automatic returns of asylum seekers. New national legislation has recently been adopted in Greece and in Turkey to support the implementation of the agreement.

As part of the EU-Turkey agreement, the EU has established the Turkey Refugee Facility (TRF), which will be used exclusively to provide support to Syrian refugees in Turkey. It will focus on six main priorities for support: humanitarian assistance, migration management, education, health, municipal infrastructure, and socio-economic support (e.g. supports to enter the labour market). Ireland’s contribution to the Turkey Refugee Facility from 2016-2018 has been set at €22 million.