Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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164. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if Ireland voted in favour of Saudi Arabia getting a seat on the UN Commission on the Status of Women. [22197/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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At the UN voting on resolutions takes place in public and there is transparency about the policy positions adopted by countries. Since 1947 the rules of procedure governing General Assembly elections provide that UN elections take place by secret ballot. The well-established convention among the 193 Member States of the UN is that votes are not publicly disclosed as to do so could seriously damage bilateral relations between States. It would also likely seriously disadvantage smaller States. Accordingly, I do not propose to abandon a practice that has been in place for over six decades and observed by all previous governments. To do so would be harmful to Ireland’s capacity to engage at the UN and harmful to our capacity to conduct sensitive international relations. It should be noted that in the election to the Commission on the Status of Women, the Asia-Pacific Group put forward five countries for five seats on the 45-member Commission which produces non-binding conclusions on an annual basis.

Ireland has a very strong record on promoting the rights of women and girls at the United Nations. We are a leading voice in this field and we currently chair the Commission for the Status of Women.

Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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165. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the fact that Saudi Arabia now has a seat on the UN Commission on the Status of Women in view of its horrendous human rights record, especially on women rights. [22198/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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The UN Charter defines the purpose of the organisation as to achieve international cooperation in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion, and states that the UN is to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends. There are many countries with which we have important policy differences, including in the area of human rights. The UN provides us with an important forum to discuss these differences. Ireland is fully committed to promoting and protecting the human rights of women and girls, and has a strong track record as a champion of human rights at the UN, including through deep engagement with the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

The CSW is an open and transparent forum, with all 193 member states having a voice in its work. While formal membership of the Commission does grant certain procedural rights, the nature of multilateral negotiations at the UN allows perspectives and priorities to be presented by all 193 member states.

Ireland recently took up a seat on the Commission for a four-year period to 2021 and we will chair the annual sessions in 2018 and 2019. During its term on the Commission, Ireland has pledged to work to strengthen the voice and functioning of the Commission and to promote the participation of civil society in its work. In 2018 the Commission, under our leadership, will attach particular priority to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls. In 2019 our priority will be to advance equality of access to public services. We will use our Chairmanship to facilitate dialogue with all UN member states, civil society and other stakeholders to agree the strongest possible outcomes which deliver on the Commission’s mandate to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women.

The Commission is one of several fora which Ireland can and does use to discuss human rights issues with fellow UN member states. Ireland has consistently raised human rights, including the human rights of women and girls with Saudi Arabia. In my visit to Saudi Arabia in November 2016, I raised the position of women in Saudi society with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. Ireland also made recommendations regarding the status of women at Saudi Arabia’s last Universal Periodic Review in 2013.

Ireland will continue to uphold our values through taking advantage of such opportunities to promote dialogue on human rights, including on those of women and girls. Our membership and chairmanship of the CSW provides us with another such opportunity.