Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 November 2017
7. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has raised the issue of the famine in Yemen with his counterparts across Europe; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48400/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraHas the Minister raised the ongoing famine in Yemen with his counterparts in Europe?
I am extremely concerned about the current situation in Yemen, particularly as the humanitarian crisis continues to deteriorate. The war has entered into its third year, the political process has stalled and the fighting is having devastating consequences for civilians. Yemen is also facing the world's fastest-growing cholera epidemic. EU Foreign Ministers last discussed the situation in Yemen at the Foreign Affairs Council in April. The Council called on all parties to start negotiating a peace agreement and committed to increasing its engagement with Yemen when a political solution to the conflict has been agreed.
The EU is the largest humanitarian donor to Yemen and has provided over €170 million in aid since the conflict began. Ireland contributes to this via the EU development budget. We have also contributed over €10 million in humanitarian assistance from our aid programme since 2015. Ireland takes the issue of humanitarian access extremely seriously. The closure of land, air and sea ports earlier this month following a missile attack on Riyadh was an alarming development, especially given the impact on humanitarian aid. When my officials met officials from the Saudi Embassy in Dublin last week, they relayed my request that all parties to the conflict should do everything possible to facilitate the delivery of aid. There have also been EU contacts with Saudi Arabia on this issue.
I note the announcement by Saudi Arabia that it intends to allow the reopening of some ports and border crossings. This must proceed urgently. Yemen has no resilience to the suspension of humanitarian assistance, as locally held supplies are extremely limited. I will continue to monitor the situation closely. I repeat my call on all parties to the conflict to allow unrestricted humanitarian access to those who need it. The conflict in Yemen has led to grave concerns about human rights. Ireland has worked in the UN system to try to address this. At the UN Human Rights Council in September, I decided that Ireland should join a small core group of countries that were driving forward the adoption of a resolution on Yemen. This resolution establishes a group of international experts who will establish the facts about violations of human rights and humanitarian law on the ground. This group will report back to the UN Human Rights Council as an important step towards accountability in Yemen.
I do not know whether the Minister saw last night's "BBC News at Ten" broadcast, which covered the ongoing crisis in Yemen. One can get desensitised to conflict and humanitarian crises across the world. The pictures coming out of Yemen are basically undescribable. Famine and disease are at epidemic levels. Almost 2,500 people have died of cholera since April. Over 12,000 people have died since the start of the conflict in 2015. The famine in Yemen is ongoing. The pictures coming from Yemen are reminiscent of those that came from Africa in the 1980s. It is a serious situation. According to one agency, it could culminate in a nightmare scenario being inflicted on the world. The Minister said he has discussed this matter with his EU counterparts.
Can the Minister forward this to his EU counterparts so they can broker some sort of peace agreement and in particular, deal with the blockade, which is having a devastating effect on the Yemeni people?
I hope I am not someone who is prone to exaggeration but Yemen is the world's worst humanitarian crisis right now. It is a catastrophic situation in terms of the inability of essential humanitarian aid supplies to reach people who desperately need them. I have seen the images coming out of Yemen and believe me, I suspect we are not seeing the half of it. We have a political responsibility to try to find solutions and a responsibility to make financial contributions towards aid, which we are doing. To put this into context, in September, the World Food Programme, which is probably the largest aid organisation in the world under UN structures, reached 6.5 million people with food assistance. That is 2 million more than the population of this country. As a result of a brutal civil war that involves a number of countries outside Yemen and poses huge political challenges, the population is facing the devastating consequences of that conflict. We need to do what we can as a small country to ensure that we say-----
We might get a few more questions.
Perhaps the EU can use its influence on the UN Security Council. A total of 12,000 people have been killed since 2015. The belligerent country of Saudi Arabia is doing most of the killing. It is being armed by the US and the UK. These countries arm Saudi Arabia to the tune of billions of dollars every year. Could the Minister ask his UK counterpart why the UK is arming a country like Saudi Arabia when it is involved in widespread wholesale murder? These people are part of the problem. It is a humanitarian crisis where the ordinary Yemeni people are dying on the streets and dying of malnutrition. The EU should step up and tell the UK that it is arming these people and this country and this is exacerbating the problem.
First, the EU is vocal on this issue. It has also rules around the arms trade in terms of what those arms are used for. It is important to say that this is effectively a civil war and no one country is responsible for the misery there. There are two sides to this conflict and depending on who one talks to, blame can be attributed to a number of parties so this will not be solved simply by taking a hard-line position with one side or the other. I am afraid it is far more complex than that. Having said that, this is now a war that is into its third year and, unfortunately, has not received the international focus that some other international conflicts such as those in Syria and South Sudan have received. There is a need for more political focus on Yemen because the extent of the misery there is very significant.
