Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 April 2024
104. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the humanitarian assistance Ireland has provided to Algeria to support and assist refugees from Western Sahara; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17773/24]
View answerIn recent years Ireland has not provided direct funding to Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria. However, we provide very significant core, unearmarked funding to United Nations humanitarian agencies operating in the camps including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP). This core funding gives the agencies the flexibility to plan and target funding in the most strategic, efficient and effective manner.
The Government is providing €12.5 million in core funding for 2024 to UNHCR under a multi-annual agreement. It aims to ensure predictable financing to aid UNHCR in its longer term planning. UNHCR in Algeria works with the most vulnerable refugees in Algeria.
Ireland’s engagement with the WFP is led by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine which has provided €25 million was provided in core funding to WFP this year. WFP has provided uninterrupted assistance to the camps for over 30 years to address persistently high levels of food insecurity.
Ireland also responds to needs of refugees in Algeria through the EU which is one of the leading donors to this crisis. In 2023, the EU committed €9 million in humanitarian funding to tackle the most pressing needs, such as malnutrition among Sahrawi refugee children and women.
In accordance with the UN position, Ireland recognises Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory. Our long-standing policy is one of support for United Nations Security Council Resolutions on self-determination for the people of Western Sahara. We do not have a view on the outcome of a decision on the future of the territory, as long as it is decided peacefully and in a genuine exercise of self-determination. During our term on the United Nations Security Council, Ireland consistently reiterated this position.
