Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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59. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the engagement he or his Department has had with regard to the establishment of The Hague Group comprising Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa; if he supports the group’s defence of international justice, human rights norms, accountability to international institutions and multilateralism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4074/25]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Both I and my officials interact with a wide variety of international partners on the Middle East which remains a major priority for this Government.

Ireland’s engagement is guided by our longstanding and principled position, notably respect for international law, respect for the equal right to self-determination, peace, security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike, and unwavering support for the two-State solution. While Ireland is not a member of the group referred to by the Deputy, this Government is committed to working with partners around the world in service of these objectives.

Ireland has been centrally involved in the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution which was founded at UN High Level Week last year and has met several times since then. It most recently met in January, in Oslo, where 85 states and international organisations were present.

Across all its bilateral and multilateral engagement, Ireland has consistently underlined the need for all parties to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law.

Ireland is a steadfast supporter of the International Criminal Court, as well as the principles and values enshrined in the Rome Statute. It is vital that the Court be allowed to carry out its important work in an independent and impartial manner. Ireland was one of 79 States Parties to the Court’s Statute that issued a joint statement last Friday 7 February, regretting the impact of US sanctions against the ICC and reaffirming our support for the Court.

Ireland has also filed a Declaration of Intervention at the International Court of Justice in South Africa’s case against Israel under the Genocide Convention on 6 January; and in The Gambia’s case against Myanmar on 20 December 2024.

My overarching priority is to contribute to a coordinated and consolidated effort by the international community as a whole to support the ceasefire and hostage release agreement and the surge of humanitarian access into Gaza it makes possible; to safeguard the two-State solution; to work towards the return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza in accordance with UN Security Council 2735 and to uphold the equal right to self-determination, peace, security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians alike.