I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 18 together.
Deputies will join with me in regretting profoundly the loss of human life and the destruction which is resulting from the war in the Gulf. I particularly regret the major loss of life which has resulted from the bombing of the shelter in Baghdad, on which we had reports yesterday. Incidents of this kind underline the urgency of securing a speedy end to the war.
Any initiatives to secure a speedy end to the Gulf war will have a chance of success only if it is based on compliance by Iraq with the resolutions of the UN Security Council, that is, to say, it must involve a decision on the part of Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. Unfortunately, there is as yet no sign that the Government of Iraq are prepared to do this and to conform to the rule of law as represented by the United Nations Charter and the relevant resolutions of the Security Council. In these circumstances, I do not consider that any initiative on my part or on the part of the Community would have any chance of success at the present time.
The principles underlying Ireland's approach to the Gulf crisis were set out clearly in the Taoiseach's speech as well as in my own in this House on 18 January last. Ireland believes in the peaceful settlement of disputes between nations, and looks to the United Nations to maintain the rule of law in relations between states. We had hoped that the unprecedented international consensus against the invasion together with the implementation of sanctions would have been sufficient to secure a peaceful solution to the crisis. In discussions within the European Ccommunity, Ireland has emphasised that the first priority is to end the war but that the crisis can be resolved only on the basis of the Security Council Resolutions. Frankly, I can see no room for negotiation on the substance of the resolutions. Iraq must withdraw from Kuwait and the Government of Kuwait must be restored. While not seeking to link the Gulf crisis with the other problems of the region, Ireland considers that consideration of measures to resolve the Palestinian problem and the Arab-Israeli conflict should not be further delayed.
The Community and its member states have given special attention to the Gulf crisis since its onset, with Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990. As I told this House on 18 January, there were three extraordinary ministerial meetings during the period of August and early September alone. There were four such meetings last month. The Community's efforts were directed at avoiding the recourse to military action, while fully respecting the Security Council Resolutions. With these objectives in mind, during August 1990, when I was a member of the Community Troika, I participated in a Community mission to Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt to press the case for an effective sanctions regime as an alternative to the need for military action.
The Community made every effort to persuade Iraq to draw back from the confrontation it had provoked. However, every successive Community approach was rebuffed. It is this obduracy on the part of the Iraqi leadership which has made war inevitable.
I have carefully monitored the reports from Moscow, Baghdad and Belgrade concerning initiatives by the Soviet Union and the leadership of the nonaligned movement to bring the war to an end. Deputies will join with me in wishing these initiatives every success. However, I fail to find any reported indication of a sign of willingness by the Government of Iraq to address the root cause of the conflict, the invasion of Kuwait. I must, therefore, echo the words of UN Secretary General, Perez de Cuellar, that there is, at any rate as yet, little that is new in these latest reports and that it remains true that a solution is possible only on the basis of compliance by Iraq with the Security Council Resolutions.
In relation to assistance to victims of the war, the Government are keeping the situation closely under review and are studying appeals for funding from the United Nations Disaster Relief Organisation (UNDRO) and the International Committee of the Red Cross in respect of detailed plans for assisting large numbers of refugees. To date, refugee numbers have been limited.
