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Gnáthamharc

Human Rights

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 July 2020

Tuesday, 28 July 2020

Ceisteanna (392)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

392. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the initiatives contemplated at EU and UN level to combat violence against women and girls at known trouble spots globally; the degree of success in dealing with the issue; the extent of new proposals in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19091/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Ireland's strong commitment to gender equality and the elimination of gender-based violence is reflected across our foreign policy.  A Better World, Ireland’s policy for international development, sets gender equality as a key cross-cutting priority.  It commits to an overarching focus on women and girls across all our interventions and partnerships, specifically highlighting preventing and responding to gender-based violence as a key focus area for our development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.

Ireland works with a variety of partners in order to reach women and girls most at risk of experiencing violence around the world. Our work as part of the EU and within the wider multilateral system, in particular the United Nations, supports our efforts to address gender-based violence.  Given the emphasis in A Better World on reaching the furthest behind first, Ireland works to ensure that our partners give sufficient priority to address gender-based violence in fragile states and conflict-affected contexts. These partnerships enable Ireland to support international and local stakeholder efforts to address gender-based violence including through strengthening the implementation of laws, policies and action plans, the provision of key prevention interventions and ensuring access to life saving response services for survivors of violence.

At the EU and UN level, the Spotlight Initiative, is a global, multi-year partnership between the EU and the UN to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls by 2030. Launched with a funding commitment of €500 million from the EU, the Spotlight Initiative deploys targeted, large-scale investments to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific.

Ireland provides core funding to key UN agencies working to address violence against women and girls around the world including UN Women, UNFPA, UNICEF, UNHCR and OCHA. Ireland also provides annual funding to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women that works to support frontline grass roots organisations in over 80 countries that are uniquely placed to meet the most urgent needs of women and girls and their communities in preventing and responding to violence.  

Our bilateral partnerships, which includes partnerships with Civil Society Organisations, also support efforts to address violence against women and girls, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Our humanitarian efforts also prioritize preventing and responding to violence against women and girls in emergencies and protracted crises where risks of gender-based violence are exacerbated and community and family protections have often broken down.  For example, in 2019, Ireland and the International Rescue Committee announced a new three-year, €4.5 million, strategic partnership, focused on addressing gender-based violence in five acute and underfunded emergency and protracted humanitarian crises.

The current pandemic has increased the risk of gender-based violence.  Ireland, with others, has used our influence to ensure that the UN Global Humanitarian Response Plan reduces that risk as part of its broader pandemic response.  Ireland co-chaired the donor support of the ICRC to June 2020, with gender a key theme of Ireland's time as co-chair: the ICRC is a key implementing partner in that Global Humanitarian Response.

In 2019, Ireland also launched Ireland’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security that includes specific commitments to enhance Ireland’s support to address gender-based violence in conflict affected states and fragile affected contexts over the next five years. We will continue to work through our multilateral and bilateral partnerships to meet these commitments and ensure that our support to combating violence against women and girls is directed to where it is most needed and has maximum impact.

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