Written answers

Tuesday, 6 December 2016

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Humanitarian Aid Provision

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

251. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if any of the money allocated to Irish Aid for 2017 will be used to specifically support the Yazidi people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38468/16]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

252. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if any consideration has been given at national, EU or international level to support a comprehensive programme of resettling and rebuilding of Sinjar, Iraq; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38469/16]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

253. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the efforts are being made by the European Union and the international community to reconstruct Sinjar, Iraq and to support and assist the Yazidi community to safely return to Sinjar following the brutal assault by ISIS in August 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38470/16]

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

254. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions that he has had with his EU counterparts specifically regarding the Yazidi community that has been recognised as having been subjected to genocide by ISIS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38471/16]

Photo of Charles FlanaganCharles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 251 to 254, inclusive, together.

Ms Nadia Murad, a survivor of the Daesh atrocities against the Yazidis, visited Ireland and met with a number of Deputies, and the Tánaiste as well as senior officials in my own Department in my absence on official business. I want to pay tribute to Ms Murad’s extraordinary bravery and her leadership in campaigning to protect and uphold the rights of her people.

I wish to record my absolute and unreserved condemnations of the vile and criminal acts committed against the Yazidis by the terrorist group Daesh. These crimes continue to this day, against Yazidis held captive by Daesh.

In September 2015, Ireland addressed UN Human Rights Council on the findings of the UN Commission of Inquiry report which stated that the crime of genocide had been committed against the Yazidis, saying “the Commission’s report details unimaginable crimes. The suffering of the victims of Daesh’s terrorism and hatred is laid bare before this Council in the report. This Council and the membership of the United Nations have an inarguable duty to end these crimes and work to achieve justice and accountability for the victims of these crimes.

Ireland has long made clear its full support for referral of the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court. Together with over 50 Member States of the United Nations, Ireland co-sponsored a proposed resolution to this effect in 2014. Ireland regards the failure of the proposed resolution as a breach of the Security Council’s obligations under the UN Charter. Ireland repeats its call for the Security Council to uphold international law and act on this report by referring the situation in Syria to the Court. It is intolerable that the terrorist perpetrators of the most heinous crimes would be granted impunity by the action of any member of the United Nations.

Ireland urges that all States engaged in countering Daesh in Syria and Iraq should place the protection of civilian populations, especially minorities at particular risk from Daesh’s murderous ideology of hate, as a priority in their instructions to members of their security forces .”

I have previously informed the Oireachtas that it is our policy that the responsibility for a legal determination of the crime of genocide is a matter for a legally competent and internationally recognised court. I regard the report of the Commission of Inquiry and its findings of genocide as authoritative and I repeat our long-standing demand that the Security Council fulfil its obligations under international law and act to ensure that the Yazidis can seek accountability for Daesh’s crimes before the International Criminal Court or another legally competent international tribunal. There can be no impunity for the horrific crimes committed against the Yazidis.

Given the continuing conflict and the ongoing threat of terrorism in Sinjar and Nineveh, the resettlement of the Yazidis and other minority populations in their ancient homelands remains too dangerous to implement immediately. However, this must be a priority for Ireland and its international partners, together with international action to ensure the protection of these populations after their return to their homes.

Funding from the Irish Aid programme, managed by my Department, has been provided to meet the urgent needs of the most vulnerable people inside Iraq, particularly in besieged and hard-to-reach areas, and those who have been displaced internally, or who have fled to neighbouring countries. Funding is channelled through Irish Aid’s NGO partners and UN organisations, who are best placed to respond, and is used to provide humanitarian supplies and urgently needed access to food, health, water and sanitation services, with a particular focus on the protection of children, women and the most vulnerable.

So far in 2016, Ireland has provided €1.5 million to Iraq, channelled through the UN Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund, to provide life-saving assistance to the estimated 10 million people affected by violence in Iraq. The Humanitarian Pooled Fund supports the implementation of the Iraq Humanitarian Response Plan, which aims to meet the critical needs of displaced people. In Erbil and Dahuk Governorates, in particular, this includes members of the Yazidi community.

In addition, in October, the Irish Government dispatched 80 tonnes of humanitarian relief supplies under the Rapid Response initiative. The relief items, which included blankets, jerry cans, cooking sets, water tanks, tarpaulins and shelter kits, at a total approximate value of €462,813, were donated to Oxfam for distribution to conflict-affected communities.

During 2015, Ireland also provided €1 million to the Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund and €250,000 in support of UNICEF’s Iraq Strategic Response Plan, which prioritised the protection of civilians displaced by conflict, as well as €330,000 to Christian Aid Ireland to support activities promoting the protection of displaced women and girls in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, where the Yazidi population is concentrated.

Ireland continues to closely monitor the situation in Iraq, and given its complexity and severity, it is likely that further support will be provided to affected communities in the coming months.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.