Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 May 2017
296. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when he was last briefed by the Irish ambassador to the UN regarding women's rights in Saudi Arabia; if these briefings are organised regularly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22851/17]
View answer297. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he or his officials were contacted by countries that did not want to support Saudi Arabia being appointed to the UN Commission on the Status of Women; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22850/17]
View answer298. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if there was contact between Saudi Arabian officials and Irish officials prior to the vote on Saudi Arabia's membership on the UN Commission on the Status of Women; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22849/17]
View answer299. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if information on Saudi Arabia's human rights record was requested by the State, in particular its human rights record relating to women, prior to the vote on its membership of the UN Commission on the Status of Women; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22848/17]
View answer300. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the discussions that he or his officials had with the permanent representative of Ireland to the UN prior to the vote on Saudi Arabia's membership of the UN Commission on the Status of Women; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22847/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 296 to 300, inclusive, together.
Ireland has a very strong record on promoting the rights of women and girls at the United Nations. We are a leading voice in this field. Given the centrality of promoting and protecting human rights in Ireland’s foreign policy, my Department closely monitors human rights concerns and issues.
In this respect, the Department seeks to be fully informed on an ongoing basis on current developments regarding human rights in individual countries and regions. It is briefed as a matter of course on developments at the UN by the staff of our Permanent Representations in New York and Geneva, and by relevant Embassies and Consulates across Ireland’s network of missions, among them our Embassy in Saudi Arabia which follows and reports on relevant developments including recent announcements by the authorities in Riyadh on reform of the guardianship system for women.
My Department is therefore very aware of the challenges facing women and girls globally and works at the United Nations and elsewhere to progress gender equality and the empowerment of women. Ireland’s Permanent Representative to the UN and his staff remain in regular contact with my Department on the wide range of issues that arise at the UN in which Ireland has an interest, including our national priorities across the three pillars of the UN’s work, namely peace and security, development, and human rights.
There are numerous elections across a range of bodies at the UN. Most of the 193 Member States of the United Nations present candidatures for election - some more frequently than others – and, in this context, there are multiple and routine interactions between the member states. There were no representations made to my Department which sought to oppose the candidature of Saudi Arabia prior to the election on membership of the Commission on the Status of Women last month.
In that election, the 55 States in the Asia-Pacific grouping agreed five candidate countries - Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Japan and the Republic of Korea - for the five seats available to their grouping.
