Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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167. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the degree to which the UN continues to challenge the activities of Boko Haram and Al Shabaab; if cases are being referred to the International Court of Justice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48366/18]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I remain deeply concerned by the threat to peace and security represented by armed groups such as Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab, whose brutal attacks on civilian populations, particularly women and girls, the Government consistently condemns.

Ireland works bilaterally and as an EU Member State, as well as with UN partners to promote peace and security in areas affected by the armed groups. The Embassies of Ireland in Nairobi and Abuja actively monitor the situation on the ground, and feed into Ireland’s effective advocacy within EU and UN forums.

In addition, Ireland works with a broad range of partners to coordinate our collective humanitarian response so that those affected can be most effectively protected and assisted. In this regard, Ireland this year is making a particularly important contribution, through our chairing of the OCHA donor support group which assists the UN Humanitarian Coordinator. So far this year, Ireland has provided over €4.8 million in humanitarian funding to the Lake Chad region and €5.5 million in humanitarian funding to Somalia. In addition, Ireland is also the 7th largest donor to the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). CERF has this year allocated €14.9 million to Somalia, as well as a further €22.9million to the Lake Chad basin.

Ireland and the EU are strong and consistent supporters of the work to build peace and stability in both the Lake Chad region and Somalia. The EU has contributed up to €50 million in support of the Multinational Joint Taskforce which promotes regional security in territories affected by Boko Haram.

The EU provides considerable support to the UN mandated AMISOM, the African Union-led peacekeeping mission in Somalia, to combat the serious threat posed by Al-Shabaab, and also to reinforce the establishment of Somalia’s government institutions. This is in addition to EU support for capacity building operations in the areas of maritime law enforcement and training.

Ireland is working with both EU and UN partners to implement a comprehensive approach that addresses the root causes of radicalisation in both regions. This includes the promotion of peace and giving people access to decent work and livelihoods, including via the EU’s Instrument contributing to Peace and Stability(IcSP) and the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF).

The appropriate international forum for determining whether a prosecutable crime has been committed would be the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The Office of the Prosecutor determines whether a situation meets the legal criteria established by the Rome Statute to warrant investigation.

As Nigeria has deposited its instrument of ratification to the ICC, the Court has jurisdiction there. On 12 November 2015, the Office of the Prosecutor identified eight potential cases involving the commission of crimes against humanity and war crimes under articles 7 and 8 of the Statute that form the subject of an ongoing admissibility assessment, including six for conduct by Boko Haram and two for conduct by the Nigerian security forces.

The ICC does not currently have jurisdiction in Somalia.