The Dáil and Seanad are in session, and Deputy Tony Dempsey has to attend another committee. I welcome the representatives from GOAL and Concern.
While we all wish for an early end to the conflict in Iraq, we want in the meantime to be pro-active in doing everything possible to relieve the suffering of the innocent citizens of Iraq and the refugees and to ensure the stability of the region. This should be tackled on two fronts, political and humanitarian.
In respect of the political situation, there should be an immediate involvement of the UN to guarantee the integrity of Iraq after the military conflict ends and to reinforce the commitment made recently by the foreign ministers of the main neighbouring countries - Iran, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
The UN should do everything in its power to ensure the stability of the region is maintained and that there will be no extension of hostilities beyond the boundaries of Iraq. In this regard the UN Security Council should call on all states in the region to cooperate with the UN to ease tensions and help with humanitarian assistance for refugees and the citizens of Iraq.
We want to see the immediate implementation of the road map for peace and security in the Middle East, which was prepared by the UN, the US, the EU and Russia as a quartet. In this regard, I especially welcome the recent initiative of the US and the UK, which endorses the commitment to have a peace settlement based on the recognition of two states in the area, Israel and Palestine. Now is the time to bring the plan to fruition. It provides a practical solution, based on peace and stability as well as economic and political development. We need to push for this at EU and UN levels. I propose to press for this approach when I meet later this week in Athens with the foreign affairs committee chairmen of the parliaments of all the EU partners and the 10 accession countries.
When the time comes, the UN should take the first opportunity to assist the Iraqi people to establish a cross-community government, which will administer the needs of Iraq and help it to return to the international family of nations.
On the humanitarian position, we should ensure everything is done to look after the refugees fleeing the war zone and the innocent civilian population left behind. To carry out these tasks, we must insist that the UN and the EU, while they have no role in the war, play their full part both in providing aid and humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi population during and after the war, and become fully engaged in the diplomatic process.
To this end there should be an end to sanctions as soon as practicable. In the meantime there should be an immediate decision to allow free access for life-sustaining necessities. Notwithstanding this, there should be an immediate mobilising of international aid to ensure that the civilian population of Iraq has adequate food, medicine and access to clean water. We know from our visit to the UN in New York last November that the UN has already provided huge stockpiles of food aid, medicines, general supplies and essential equipment in neighbouring countries to meet the needs of the refugees and of the innocent civilians.
A good start was made last Friday by the UN Secretary General in securing permission from the UN Security Council to use the funding from the UN oil for food programme to supply immediate humanitarian assistance for Iraqi refugees and citizens in need.
We must also ensure that the EU will remain fully committed to providing humanitarian assistance for the country and will be foremost in the reconstruction of Iraq once hostilities have ceased.
However, apart from all of this we in Ireland also want to play our part on a bilateral basis in providing humanitarian assistance and in the early reconstruction of Iraq. The Government has already provided €5 million for immediate aid in the region. We also know that our NGOs are already active there. For that reason I am delighted to welcome representatives of Concern and GOAL, who have agreed to outline their views on the humanitarian needs of the population in Iraq. From GOAL I welcome its chief executive, Mr. John O'Shea and Mr. Colin Lee, and from Concern I welcome their chief executive officer Mr. Tom Arnold and their regional director Anne O'Mahony.
Before we commence I would again remind the meeting that while members are covered by privilege, others appearing before the committee are not.