Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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418. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the circumstances surrounding the resignation of a person (details supplied) as Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia of the UN arising from criticism they received for taking a stand on the treatment of the Palestinian people. [18197/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of the resignation of the former UN Under-Secretary General and Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) Executive Secretary, Rima Khalaf, and also of the report commissioned and published by the ESCWA member states on 15 March. I understand also that another ESCWA report was withdrawn last month on the instruction of the UN Secretary General.

I cannot comment on the content of the report, which has been withdrawn on the order of Secretary General Guterres, who said that proper procedures had not been followed in issuing the report. Similarly, I do not wish to comment on Ms Khalaf’s resignation without being fully sighted on the circumstances surrounding her decision.

It is relevant also to note that the majority of the eighteen ESCWA member states do not recognise the State of Israel.

Nonetheless, there are issues of enormous concern in the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory, and a clear need for these to be discussed in an open and impartial manner.

I have argued consistently and repeatedly at EU and UN level that there needs to be a greater focus on the actions and developments in the occupied Palestinian territory which are unjust and which undermine the possibility of reaching a peace agreement. Ireland has focused in particular on settlement expansion, and on related issues demolitions, evictions and expropriations, but also on a broader range of concerns such as the treatment of Palestinian children by the Israeli security forces, restrictions on the provision of humanitarian assistance to populations in need, and restriction of access to water supplies. We have also made known our concerns regarding unequal treatment of Palestinians under the law.