Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 May 2013
70. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the details of the discussions he has had with António Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees since coming into office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23420/13]
View answerThe Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) plays a critical role in ensuring humanitarian access to alleviate the suffering of millions of displaced people. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country. It also has a mandate to help stateless people. Ireland works closely with the UNHCR, and last year the Government provided €8.4 million for the protection of refugees in Syria, Jordan, Chad, the Sahel, Somalia and elsewhere. This year we have already provided €8.6 million to UNHCR in core funding and emergency funding for refugees from Syria.
In this context I was particularly pleased to have the opportunity to meet with High Commissioner Guterres when he visited Ireland in October 2012 in advance of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union. We discussed the escalating conflict in Syria and its impact on UNHCR’s work, including in Jordan where Minister of State Joe Costello T.D. had recently visited the Za’atari refugee camp.
Apart from the humanitarian crisis which dominated the headlines at the time I also raised the issue of the many so called “forgotten crises” from Chad, DRC, Mali and Somalia. I briefed Mr Guterres on Ireland’s funding for these crises while assuring him that we would continue to highlight this issue in international fora. I also shared with Mr Guterres my own personal impressions following my visit to Somalia in July 2012, during which I had the opportunity to see for myself the valuable work that UNHCR is doing on the ground. I also briefed Mr. Guterres on our plans for Ireland’s EU Presidency. We discussed our work to forge stronger links between the development and humanitarian agendas of the EU, as well as our role in coordinating EU positions for the international meeting on the Millennium Development Goals, to be held at the UN in September 2013.
