Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 January 2024
157. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the degree to which at EU and UN level, he continues to focus on the vulnerability of women and children who continue to fall victims to physical and mental abuse; if he will indicate the steps being taken to address these issues and incarcerate the perpetrators; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3692/24]
View answer159. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which he continues to raise at EU Security Council level the ongoing worldwide abuses of women and children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3694/24]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 157 and 159 together.
I thank the Deputy for his questions.
The particular human rights violations and abuses encountered by women and children, including sexual and gender-based violence, crosscuts all of Ireland’s engagement on both conflict and human rights. Violence against women and girls constitutes a serious human rights abuse, a form of discrimination against women, and is a major obstacle to the achievement of gender equality.
Ireland actively seeks to prevent and counter violence against women and girls, and to ensure that perpetrators are held to account. This is a domestic and foreign policy priority. At the EU level, Ireland works each year to ensure that vulnerable groups, including women and girls, are at forefront of EU human rights work, including through strong references to these groups in EU Council Conclusions on human rights priorities.
Furthermore, Ireland is committed to the EU’s Gender Action Plan (GAPIII). The GAP sets out the EU’s strategy (2020 – 2027) on accelerating progress on gender equality and women's empowerment in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Ireland reports periodically to the European Commission on the implementation of the GAPIII
Ireland acceded to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1985. We strongly support the work of UN Women and of the special procedures. We play an active role in supporting initiatives to counter violence against women at both the UN Human Rights Council and the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.
Ireland has been a longstanding champion of the Women, Peace and Security agenda at the UN, and it was a key priority for our membership of the UN Security Council. We sought to advance this agenda across all our work on the Security Council – including on country, thematic and peacekeeping files. We placed an emphasis on ending the scourge of conflict-related sexual violence and ensuring that women are free to participate fully, equally and meaningfully in peacebuilding processes. Ireland also worked to actively to mainstream human rights, including the human rights of women and girls, across all areas of the Security Council agenda and to ensure greater coherence between the Human Rights Council in Geneva and the Security Council in New York.
Ireland strongly supports the work of the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on children and armed conflict and UNICEF. Their work has produced tangible results on the ground through the monitoring and reporting mechanism and national action plans.
Ireland is a member of the Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC), and during our tenure on the United Nations Security Council, Ireland was able to deepen and intensify our engagement on children and armed conflict.
Finally, Ireland was an active participant in the UN Security Council’s Children and Armed Conflict Working Group chaired by Norway. Ireland actively worked on a number of Working Group Conclusions while a member of the Council where many positive advances were achieved, including strengthened language on humanitarian access, the best interests of the child and on sexual and reproductive health rights.
