Cathal Crowe
Question:71. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he believes the Russian Federation should be designated as a terrorist state; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4332/23]
View answerTuesday, 31 January 2023
Questions (71)
Oral answers (10 contributions)
Does the Tánaiste believe the Russian Federation should be designated as a terrorist state? The European Parliament has passed a resolution along these lines. I would be interested to hear the Tánaiste's views on that matter.
Since Russia commenced its unjustified and unprovoked further invasion of Ukraine, we have consistently expressed Ireland's unwavering solidarity with Ukraine and support for its sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. We have used our voice at the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council and other multilateral fora to call for accountability for international crimes committed in Ukraine. Ireland has pushed for the Security Council to hold Russia accountable, to urge it to end its war in Ukraine immediately, and to call out Russia’s cynical attempts to use the Council and other UN bodies to spread disinformation.
As I said earlier, I was shocked last week that in the European Parliament, two Members from Ireland went against the resolution to establish a tribunal to hold Russia to account for the crime of aggression. It is incredible that two Irish MEPs, Mick Wallace and Clare Daly, would oppose such a resolution.
The Tánaiste should not mention people in their absence. I have given him some latitude but even though they are MEPs-----
I am sorry; I thought political representatives could be mentioned.
You have mentioned them twice.
Okay. The point is taken.
Accountability is extremely important because we have to call out Russia's cynical attempts to use the Council and other United Nations bodies to spread disinformation. Ireland voted to exclude Russia from the UN Human Rights Council and has co-sponsored three resolutions at the UN General Assembly condemning Russia’s aggression and calling for humanitarian access.
We supported the decision by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe that the Russian Federation should cease to be a member of the Council of Europe as of 16 March 2022. Ireland also submitted a request for leave to intervene as a third party in the proceedings brought by Ukraine against Russia before the European Court of Human Rights. We, along with EU partners, were one of over 40 states to refer the situation in Ukraine to the Office of the ICC prosecutor to pursue accountability for alleged atrocity crimes committed in Ukraine. Ireland has also filed a declaration of intervention at the International Court of Justice in Ukraine’s case against Russia.
The term "terrorist state" is not a legally defined term in either Irish law or international law. There is no statutory power to designate a country as a terrorist state. There is no doubt, however, that Russia's targeted and indiscriminate attacks on residential neighbourhoods and civilian infrastructure are designed to terrorise the people of Ukraine. I condemn these attacks in the strongest terms.
I have a question coming up later regarding Russian accountability. Hopefully it will be reached. I asked this question following the recent passing of a resolution by the European Parliament declaring Russia to be a state sponsor of terrorism. The catalyst for this resolution was, of course, the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Russia. There are particular concerns about the targeting and killing of Ukrainian civilians. There is also the destruction of civilian infrastructure and general breaches of international and humanitarian law. These must surely be acts of terror and classified as war crimes. What is the Tánaiste's view of the European Parliament resolution? Is this something that could be advanced at the EU Foreign Affairs Council? An appropriate legal framework would have to be put in place to do it. The European Parliament goes into detail as to how that might be done.
In my previous role as Taoiseach, we had been pursuing the entire issue of accountability for Russia. It is complex legally but it is one area where Ireland feels it can make a contribution. I outlined earlier the different decisions we have taken, for example, that the Russian Federation should cease to be a member at the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe; that we submitted a request for leave to intervene as a third party in the proceedings brought by Ukraine against Russia before the European Court of Human Rights; and that we were one of over 40 states to refer the situation in Ukraine to the office of the ICC prosecutor to pursue accountability for alleged atrocity crimes committed in Ukraine. We have also filed a declaration of intervention at the International Court of Justice in Ukraine's case against Russia. There is no doubt that the entire approach of Russia has been to target and indiscriminately attack residential neighbourhoods and civilian infrastructure, designed to terrorise the people of Ukraine. It is a war of terror that has created the migration crisis, the energy crisis and the humanitarian crisis.
The actions of the Russian Federation in recent years are quite shocking. There is the case of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Democracies are being subjected to hybrid threats. Critics of Putin are poisoned as they go about their business on city streets. Of course, there is the ongoing matter of espionage capabilities in the Russian Embassy in Dublin. On a related point, where stands the implementation of the ninth round of sanctions? Are further sanctions being considered at an EU level on Russian individuals and entities?
I agree with the Deputy's general comment about how Russia has behaved in recent years. There were many warning signs but I thought the poisoning of people in the United Kingdom, in Salisbury and London, provoked too lame a response from the West. This was an appalling public health attack, as well as the murder of individuals. It was a public health attack that put many people in the United Kingdom at risk due to the radioactive material and nerve agents and so on. It seems to me that over time, with the invasion of Crimea, President Putin felt he could get away with these things and thought the same would happen with the invasion of Ukraine, that people would not take a stance against it.
The European Union has implemented extensive restrictive measures against Russia, including through its ninth package of restrictive measures and the international oil products price cap. Europe stands ready to continue this. Compliance with existing sanctions is a stronger focus. David O'Sullivan, a former Secretary General and Director General within the EU, has been appointed as sanctions envoy to make sure sanctions are not circumvented.