Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 January 2025
22. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the measures Ireland is taking to support women’s rights internationally, particularly in countries that face extreme discrimination and violence, like Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and so on. [46496/24]
View answerIreland’s overarching foreign policy goal is the achievement of a more equal, peaceful and sustainable world. It is evident that this cannot be achieved if half of the world’s population does not enjoy equal rights and freedom from discrimination. The attainment of gender equality and equal rights for women and girls is therefore a policy priority across Ireland’s international engagement, including in international human rights, development cooperation, and in our bilateral relationships.
We are deeply concerned by the situation of women and girls in acutely discriminatory circumstances, including situations of violence and conflict. Ireland actively raises these concerns in multilateral settings, including through debates, resolutions, and statements at the UN, such as at the Commission on the Status of Women and the UN Human Rights Council.
For instance, during the spring 2024 Universal Periodic Review session, Ireland recommended that Afghanistan reverse all decrees implemented by the Taliban that place restrictions on women and girls’ rights to education, employment, legal remedies, health and freedom of movement. Ireland also recommended Yemen end the mahram, or male guardian requirement, for all women and take measures to criminalise all forms of gender-based violence.
The continuing and worsening discrimination in Iran against the position and freedoms of women and girls has been a major concern in recent years, including substantial public protests in Iran which have been suppressed by force. These issues have been a particular focus of Ireland’s engagement on human rights in Iran, conducted through resolutions and actions at the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council, contacts at EU level, and our own direct representations to the Iranian authorities, including at official level bilateral political consultations held in Dublin last year.
In the difficult circumstances of a continuing civil war in Yemen, there have been positive discussions at EU level with the Government on issues relating to the rights and status of women. However, prospects for major progress are severely limited until the war can be ended, and while much of the territory and more than half of the population of Yemen are outside the control of the government. Ireland continues to fund the UNOCHA Yemen Humanitarian Fund, which includes two strategic objectives on improving and maintaining non-discriminatory access to basic services and protection of the most vulnerable crisis affected population, by ensuring timely, principled, and non-discriminatory humanitarian assistance and solutions by promoting international norms and standards.
In relation to Saudi Arabia, bilaterally, through EU channels and in international fora, Ireland has recognised advancements in the position and status of women while encouraging further action.
The restrictions imposed by the Taliban on women and girls in Afghanistan are truly horrendous and could amount to gender persecution which is a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the ICC. Ireland has consistently condemned the actions of the Taliban and worked with like-minded partners to maintain international attention on the plight of women and girls in Afghanistan, including through organising a successful event I attended at the UNGA high level week last September. The Government will continue our active engagement on this appalling situation, in line with the commitment now set out in “Securing our Future.”
Support to women’s rights organisations and human rights defenders is a cornerstone of Ireland’s foreign policy. This includes, for example, the provision of funding to organisations working globally to protect human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, in recognition of their central role in driving progress and promoting universal human rights.
Ireland’s international development policy, A Better World, also commits to increasing Ireland’s funding to women’s rights organisations, as key actors in advancing gender equality at local, national and global levels.
