Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 January 2022
228. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which the international community continues to monitor the activities of the Boko Haram and Al Shabaab or associated organisations with a view to minimising and eliminating their ability to carry out attacks on women, young girls or children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4178/22]
View answerI strongly condemn the continued violence perpetrated by Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab, support work of the EU and UN to reduce their influence, and to prevent their attacks, especially against civilians and humanitarian workers and facilities.
Through Irish Aid, the Government's official aid programme, my Department is tackling poverty, hunger and exclusion, which can be drivers of support for groups such as Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab, as well as responding to humanitarian need in regions affected by conflict. As a Member State, Ireland contributes to the significant European Union development and humanitarian response in Somalia, and in countries affected by Boko Haram.
Since 2015, Irish Aid has contributed €34 million in humanitarian funding to alleviate the conditions of people in distress across the Lake Chad region. This includes funding to Concern Worldwide, Goal, and Plan International Ireland, as well as to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Through the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS) and the UN Peacebuilding Commission, the United Nations is helping stabilise the situation in the Lake Chad region. Ireland is penholder, together with Niger, on the UNOWAS file at the UN Security Council. In its Presidential Statement on peace consolidation in West Africa of 17 August 2021, the Security Council strongly condemned continued attacks against civilians in the region, and both attacks and threats of attacks against schools, children, and educational personnel, including recent abductions in Nigeria.
Irish Aid provides funding to support those displaced by conflict in North-East Nigeria, where the numbers of people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection are at the highest levels recorded.
Additionally, Ireland is a member of the International Support Group of the Regional Stabilisation Strategy for the Lake Chad Basin (ISG), and has observer status at the Sahel Alliance: both are forums which enable donors to coordinate support in addressing the challenges in Boko Haram-affected areas of the Lake Chad Basin.
Since 2012, Ireland has provided over €57 million in humanitarian assistance to Somalia, including to communities displaced by conflict in Al Shabaab-held areas. With humanitarian needs in these regions likely to remain acute, Irish funding will continue to target those most in need. The UN-mandated African Union-led peacekeeping mission in Somalia (AMISOM) supports the Federal Government of Somalia in its efforts to combat Al-Shabaab. Ireland is Chair of the Somalia Sanctions Committee at the UN Security Council. That Committee oversees an arms embargo and other tools to encourage a more peaceful and secure Somalia, including engagement with Al Shabaab. This complements Ireland’s role as an EU Member State supporting Somalia, including the strengthening of its government institutions.
The EU has three Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) Missions in the Horn of Africa. A number of Irish nationals are deployed to the civilian mission EUCAP Somalia, including the current Head of Mission. In the Sahel, Ireland currently has 20 Defence Forces personnel participating in EUTM Mali. Ireland also deploys one expert to the civilian mission EUCAP Sahel Niger. 14 Defence Forces personnel are deployed in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilisation Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Ireland’s participation in these missions allows us to contribute to peace and security, help protect human rights, and put in place conditions for sustainable development.
