Written answers

Tuesday, 4 April 2017

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

UN Resolutions

Photo of Darragh O'BrienDarragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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388. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the developments at EU and international level since the UN Security Council Resolution 2334 was adopted on 23 December 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16235/17]

Photo of Charles FlanaganCharles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Security Council Resolution 2334 was an important restatement of principles in relation to the Middle East conflict, particularly as relates to Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory. The Resolution stated that these settlements have no legal validity and are a major obstacle to peace; it called for an immediate end to settlement activities, and underlined negative trends operating on the ground. It also called on all states to distinguish in their dealings between the State of Israel and the occupied territory.

In all these aspects the Resolution echoed the positions already taken by the European Union, to which Ireland had made a significant contribution. I very much welcomed and supported this important Resolution by the Security Council.

The broader international community also expressed itself at the Paris Conference on the Middle East, which I attended on 15 January. The conference Declaration focused on international support for the two state solution and for the principles that must underlie any peace agreement, and called for an end to unilateral actions that hinder the realisation of that goal.

Resolution 2334 and the Paris Declaration together constituted a clear statement of the policies and positions of the international community as a whole.

Going forward, however, it is evident that the political process to reach an agreement on these lines is stalled. The initiative by France which culminated in the Paris Conference helped focus attention on the difficulty but could not restore momentum to the process.

The position of the new US Administration will obviously be an important factor in the next developments, but this has not yet become clear.

Ireland continues to participate actively, both in my own interventions at the Foreign Affairs Council and at official level, in EU level discussions on how to defend and reactivate the two state solution.

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