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Foreign Conflicts

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 March 2022

Thursday, 24 March 2022

Ceisteanna (236)

Bernard Durkan

Ceist:

236. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which hostilities continue in the horn of Africa; if adequate efforts are being made to address the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15701/22]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The Horn of Africa is undergoing significant political turmoil and conflict, as shifting regional and geopolitical dynamics intertwine with grave climate, economic, humanitarian and security challenges. Conflicts such as that in northern Ethiopia (in which Eritrean forces are also embroiled), the conflict and violence in Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan, the ongoing efforts to ensure a democratic transition in Sudan, the Sudan/Ethiopia border dispute, and tensions over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) are combining to reverse the development and peace gains of recent years.

Conflict and inter-state disputes in the region are unfolding against the background of climate-induced shocks, including the worst drought in decades. In February, the World Food Programme assessed that 13 million people in the Horn faced severe hunger. The impact of the invasion of Ukraine on food supplies has prompted revised estimates, with 20 million in Sudan alone expected to struggle with acute hunger in 2022.

Peace and stability in the Horn of Africa is a priority for Ireland, including in our role on the UN Security Council where the situations in Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan are regular agenda items. Ireland is the unofficial penholder at the Council on Ethiopia, in addition to chairing the Somalia Sanctions Committee and playing a prominent role in discussions on Sudan and South Sudan. Ireland has partnered with African members of the Council to address thematic areas of particular pertinence to the region, such as climate and security; Women Peace and Security, and conflict and hunger. Ireland has worked to ensure participation of civil society from the Horn of Africa in debates on relevant peace and security agenda items, prioritising women peacebuilders, in particular during our Presidency of the Council in September 2021.

In July 2021, Minister Coveney visited Kenya and Somalia for a series of high-level political meetings designed to inform Ireland’s work on the Council, deepen bilateral relations, and enhance collaboration on regional security challenges. Both bilaterally and through the European Union, Ireland supports the peace and security capacities and leadership of organisations such as the African Union and IGAD (the Intergovernmental Authority on Development) in tackling the region’s crises. Ireland also works closely with the Office of the EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa. At the European Union, the Human Rights Council and the United Nations more broadly, Ireland will continue to highlight the human rights and humanitarian imperatives in the Horn: only by taking a people-driven, ground-up approach to security can sustainable peace in the Horn be achieved. Between 2012 and 2021, Ireland provided over €267 million in humanitarian and development funding to the region.

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