Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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409. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the degree to which the international community continues to monitor the activities of Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab with reference to the areas they continue to be most active; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24677/21]

Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Ireland strongly condemns the violence and terror perpetrated by Boko Haram and Al Shabaab. Ireland supports the EU, UN and other international efforts to reduce the influence of Boko Haram and Al Shabaab and to prevent their attacks, especially against civilians and humanitarian workers and facilities. Ireland continues to monitor the activities of these groups and to assist populations affected by their actions.

Through Irish Aid, the Government's official aid programme, Ireland is tackling poverty, hunger and exclusion which can be a driver of support for groups such as Boko Haram and Al Shabaab, as well as responding to humanitarian need in regions affected by conflict. This includes €27 million in humanitarian funding to the Lake Chad region since 2015, and also funding for those displaced by conflict in North-East Nigeria. Since 2012, Ireland has provided over €56.4 million in humanitarian assistance to Somalia, including to communities displaced by conflict in Al Shabaab-held areas. With humanitarian needs in these regions likely to remain acute, Irish funding will continue to target those most in need.

The UN is active in the Lake Chad Basin areas affected by Boko Haram, through its Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) and the UN Peacebuilding Commission. Ireland is penholder together with Niger on the UNOWAS file at the UN Security Council, working to ensure that UNOWAS has a clear strategic direction in its work on conflict prevention and peacebuilding in West Africa. In its Presidential Statement on peace consolidation in West Africa of 3 February, the Security Council condemned attacks against civilians in Borno State on 28 November 2020, and the abduction of schoolchildren in Katsina state, claimed by Boko Haram.

The UN-mandated African Union-led peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) supports the Federal Government of Somalia in its efforts to combat Al Shabaab. Ireland is Chair of the Somalia Sanctions Committee at the UN Security Council. That Committee oversees an arms embargo and other tools to encourage a more peaceful and secure Somalia, including engagement with Al Shabaab. This complements Ireland’s role as an EU Member State supporting Somalia, including the strengthening of its government institutions. The EU provides significant development funding to Somalia, and to countries affected by Boko Haram. Ireland is a member of the International Support Group of the Regional Stabilisation Strategy for the Lake Chad Basin (ISG), and has observer status at the Sahel Alliance: both are forums which enable donors to coordinate support in addressing the challenges in Boko Haram-affected areas of the Lake Chad Basin.

The EU has three Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) Missions in the Horn of Africa. A number of Irish nationals are deployed to EUCAP Somalia, including the current Head of Mission. In the Sahel,Ireland currently has 14 Defence Forces personnel participating in EUTM Mali. Ireland also deploys one expert to the EUCAP Sahel Niger. 14 Defence Forces personnel are deployed in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Ireland’s participation in these missions allows us to contribute to peace and security across the Sahel, help protect human rights, and put in place conditions for its sustainable development.