Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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391. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the extent to which through the aegis of the EU and UN the international community remains alert to the use of child soldiers at various trouble spots worldwide; the actions in hand or likely to be taken to combat the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19090/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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EU policy on child soldiers is set out in Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict, first adopted in 2003 and revised in 2008.  These aim to persuade governments and organisations around the world to fully respect international humanitarian law and human rights law that protects children from armed conflict. The Guidelines commit the EU to address the impact of armed conflict on children and fight against impunity for those who are involved in the recruitment of child soldiers.

In 1999, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1261 on the impact of armed conflict on children.  Since then, the Security Council has established tools to strengthen child protection and to support international standards, including a systematic and comprehensive monitoring and reporting mechanism. 

In December 1996, the UN General Assembly created the mandate of the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict to advocate for the protection and well-being of children affected by armed conflict and develop best practices to address the recruitment and use of child soldiers. The Secretary-General of the UN also issues an annual report on children and armed conflict which examines both trends and specific country situations, listing all armed groups – both state and non-state – that recruit and use children. 

Ireland continues to combat the use of child soldiers through our development programme, Irish Aid, with a focus on addressing the socio-economic causes that contribute to this situation, through providing access to education, skills and livelihood opportunities, a priority also reflected in our development policy A Better World.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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392. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the initiatives contemplated at EU and UN level to combat violence against women and girls at known trouble spots globally; the degree of success in dealing with the issue; the extent of new proposals in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19091/20]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland's strong commitment to gender equality and the elimination of gender-based violence is reflected across our foreign policy.  A Better World, Ireland’s policy for international development, sets gender equality as a key cross-cutting priority.  It commits to an overarching focus on women and girls across all our interventions and partnerships, specifically highlighting preventing and responding to gender-based violence as a key focus area for our development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.

Ireland works with a variety of partners in order to reach women and girls most at risk of experiencing violence around the world. Our work as part of the EU and within the wider multilateral system, in particular the United Nations, supports our efforts to address gender-based violence.  Given the emphasis in A Better World on reaching the furthest behind first, Ireland works to ensure that our partners give sufficient priority to address gender-based violence in fragile states and conflict-affected contexts. These partnerships enable Ireland to support international and local stakeholder efforts to address gender-based violence including through strengthening the implementation of laws, policies and action plans, the provision of key prevention interventions and ensuring access to life saving response services for survivors of violence.

At the EU and UN level, the Spotlight Initiative, is a global, multi-year partnership between the EU and the UN to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls by 2030. Launched with a funding commitment of €500 million from the EU, the Spotlight Initiative deploys targeted, large-scale investments to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific.

Ireland provides core funding to key UN agencies working to address violence against women and girls around the world including UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNHCR and OCHA. Ireland also provides annual funding to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women that works to support frontline grass roots organisations in over 80 countries that are uniquely placed to meet the most urgent needs of women and girls and their communities in preventing and responding to violence.  

Our bilateral partnerships, which includes partnerships with Civil Society Organisations, also support efforts to address violence against women and girls, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Our humanitarian efforts also prioritize preventing and responding to violence against women and girls in emergencies and protracted crises where risks of gender-based violence are exacerbated and community and family protections have often broken down.  For example, in 2019, Ireland and the International Rescue Committee announced a new three-year, €4.5 million, strategic partnership, focused on addressing gender-based violence in five acute and underfunded emergency and protracted humanitarian crises.

The current pandemic has increased the risk of gender-based violence.  Ireland, with others, has used our influence to ensure that the UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan reduces that risk as part of its broader pandemic response.  Ireland co-chaired the donor support of the ICRC to June 2020, with gender a key theme of Ireland's time as co-chair: the ICRC is a key implementing partner in that Global Humanitarian Response.

In 2019, Ireland also launched Ireland’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security that includes specific commitments to enhance Ireland’s support to address gender-based violence in conflict affected states and fragile affected contexts over the next five years. We will continue to work through our multilateral and bilateral partnerships to meet these commitments and ensure that our support to combating violence against women and girls is directed to where it is most needed and has maximum impact.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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393. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the locations worldwide most commonly associated with human rights abuses and violence against women and children; the actions proposed or in hand to deal with the issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19092/20]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The human rights of women and children are protected under international human rights instruments, including the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  The compliance of countries with their obligations is kept under review by the relevant treaty monitoring bodies.   

In addition, a number of UN special procedures with relevant mandates, including the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences and the UN Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, are active on these issues.  Their regular reports to the UN Human Rights Council, which can be accessed on its website, detail the situation with regard to  the human rights of women and children and make recommendations as to how they can be addressed and prevented.

Ireland’s policy for International Development, A Better World, prioritises preventing and responding to gender based violence while Ireland's Third National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security reiterates Ireland's commitment to intensifying investment in prevention and response to gender based violence, especially in fragile and conflict affected states.

My Department is also an active member of the Irish Consortium of Gender Based Violence,  an alliance of Irish and international human rights, humanitarian and development organisations and the Irish Defence Forces.  Support is provided to the Consortium to promote increased understanding of gender based violence and ensure high quality programming and policy responses in both development and humanitarian settings.