Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 February 2019
128. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of the Rohingya; the efforts being made by the EU and international community to address this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6409/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince military security operations in Rakhine State escalated in August 2017, approximately 720,000 refugees, mostly Rohingya, have fled to Bangladesh. There have been reports of further violence emerging from Rakhine State in recent weeks.
In response, Ireland has sought to deploy political pressure with the aim of easing the crisis. We have done this through bilateral contacts in Myanmar, and through our membership of both the EU and UN. This included active support for the establishment of an Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (IIFFM) on Myanmar.
The report of the Mission, which was published in August 2018, found that human rights violations amounting to crimes against humanity and war crimes have been committed by members of the Burmese Military (Tatmadaw) and other security forces in Rakhine as well as in Kachin and Shan States. The IIFFM report also finds that there is sufficient evidence of crimes committed in Rakhine State being so grave that they warrant a competent court to determine the liability for the crime of genocide of those in the Tatmadaw chain of command.
Ireland has worked closely with EU and UN partners to respond to this crisis and one of the key issues we have focused on so far is the issue of accountability. At the 39th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, Ireland actively supported the creation of a resolution on Myanmar which mandates a new impartial independent mechanism to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence of the most serious violations of international law committed in Myanmar since 2011. This is an important step in facilitating fair and independent criminal proceedings for these crimes. We will continue to advocate for this mechanism including at the upcoming 40th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Within the EU, Ireland has pressed for progress within Myanmar on these issues. The EU Foreign Affairs Council adopted Conclusions on Myanmar on 10 December 2018, which respond to the IIFFM report and call on Myanmar to hold those responsible for these crimes to account and to take meaningful action towards the creation of conditions conducive to a safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of those displaced from Rakhine State to their places of origin. This new set of Conclusions builds on the earlier Council Conclusions on Myanmar of 26 February 2018, which provided for targeted restrictive measures against senior military officers of the Myanmar Security Forces responsible for these acts.
Ireland has also provided direct funding of €2.325 million since 2017 to the Rohingya crisis response, supporting vulnerable communities living in conflict-affected areas of Rakhine state and Rohingya refugee settlements in Bangladesh. Our support has focused on food, nutrition, shelter, water and sanitation. In addition, experts in water and sanitation and humanitarian coordination were deployed from Irish Aid’s Rapid Response Corps and 37 tonnes of Irish Aid pre-positioned emergency relief supplies were dispatched for distribution by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Ireland has also provided substantial humanitarian support via the UN-administered Central Emergency Response Fund.
It is clear that, ultimately, the long-standing drivers of conflict in Myanmar need to be addressed. In regard to Rakhine State, the IIFFM recognises that the implementation of the findings of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State (The Annan Commission) provides a roadmap for sustainable and community-led peacebuilding in Rakhine State, and for the development of impoverished regions there. Ireland has strongly and repeatedly called for the full implementation of the Advisory Commission’s findings and will continue to do so. Officials in my Department, including in the Embassy of Ireland in Thailand which is also accredited to Myanmar, will continue to monitor the situation.
