Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

71. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the action he plans to take on the widespread and systematic abuse of the rights of Palestinian children who are subject to military law, arrest and interrogation and not accorded the same rights as Israeli children or the rights that would be expected to be given to children under international law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17629/19]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am deeply concerned by the unacceptable manner of, and practices around, the detention and trial of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons and the Israeli military court system. As a contracting party, Israel is bound by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). I am not satisfied that Israel is meeting its obligations under these Conventions.

All children subject to Israeli jurisdiction and criminal justice, including in territory occupied by Israel, should be afforded the same protections under the law as Israel considers appropriate for Israeli children. 

During my visits to Israel and Palestine, I raised Ireland’s concerns about the detention of minors directly with the Israeli authorities, including on the practices of night-time arrests and blindfolding. I have strongly urged the Israeli authorities to use detention only as a last resort, and for the shortest possible period of time, in the case of minors, as stipulated in the CRC.

The Israeli military court system, which is used only in relation to Palestinians in the Occupied Territory, including children, has a near-one hundred percent conviction rate, a statistic which raises serious questions about the system’s compliance with international standards of due process.  Ireland has recommended that Israel should urgently end the admissibility of evidence in military courts of written confessions in Hebrew signed by Palestinian children, the use of solitary confinement and the denial of access to family members or to legal representation.

In the most recent UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of Israel in 2018, Ireland drew attention to concerns regarding the treatment of Palestinian prisoners. Ireland raised the issue of administrative detention and recommended that Israel ensure full respect for international human rights obligations. Ireland has also raised these issues at EU level. In February 2019, the Foreign Affairs Council adopted Conclusions on EU Priorities in UN human rights fora, which reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to the full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Protocols worldwide.

Ireland continues to support a number of key Palestinian and Israeli NGOs in their work on the monitoring, advocacy and legal defence of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

72. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the United States of America recognition of the occupied Golan Heights in conjunction with the previous recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; and his views on whether this will have a negative consequence on lasting peace and a two state solution. [17591/19]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

77. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the measures Ireland or the EU will take in response to the decision of the United States of America to recognise the Israeli annexation of the Golan Heights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17630/19]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 72 and 77 together.

I regret the decision of the United States to recognise Israeli sovereignty over territory captured in the 1967 war. This is a breach of a central principle of international law, which will have unfortunate repercussions well beyond the immediate context of the Golan Heights. Annexation of territory by force is prohibited under international law, including the UN Charter. This is a fundamental principle of the relation of States and the rule of law in the modern world. 

This decision by the United States in relation to the Golan Heights is an unhelpful step at a critical juncture in the conflict. I made clear in a statement on 25 March that Ireland continues to regard the Golan Heights as Syrian territory occupied by Israel. The EU also issued a statement which affirmed that in line with international law and UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 497, the European Union does not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.

I also made my views clear in December 2017 on the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It has been the united position of the international community for decades that a resolution of the Middle East conflict will include agreement for Jerusalem to be the capital of both Israel and the future state of Palestine. 

Ireland continues to believe that the best way to achieve a just and lasting solution to this conflict is through substantive negotiations between all interlocutors, resolving all issues of disagreement, and leading to the development of a two-state solution.  Contributing to the advancement of the Middle East Peace Process is a priority of the Government, and it is an issue to which I have dedicated a great deal of time since assuming my role, most recently by holding a Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in February. I am committed to continuing my efforts to support positive change in the region.