Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 February 2024
57. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his engagements with the government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6958/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraCoherent with a common EU position, neither I nor my Department undertake actions that would serve to confer the appearance of legitimacy onto the military junta. In keeping with that principle, we have not held bilateral meetings or engagements with the military authorities. It is Ireland’s practice to recognise states and not governments.
I remain deeply concerned by the ongoing crisis in Myanmar and wish to reiterate in the strongest terms my condemnation of the February 2021 coup. I am appalled by the escalation in violence, the displacement of large numbers of people and the dire humanitarian and human rights situation. Together with our EU partners, Ireland continues to call for the restoration of legitimate, civilian government.
I and my Department remain actively engaged on the crisis. My Department has met with representatives of the National Unity Government at official level and also regularly engages with civil society organisations.
Ireland has repeatedly raised the crisis in multilateral fora. We actively engaged in negotiations for the UN General Assembly Resolution on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar, adopted on 19 December 2023. At the start of this month, the EU issued a statement on the third anniversary of the coup, condemning the coup and human rights violations by the junta, as well as calling attention to the dire humanitarian situation.
In December 2023, the EU imposed an eighth round of sanctions against individuals and entities in Myanmar, a measure supported by Ireland. Ireland fully supports action against perpetrators of the coup as well as those who sustain them, and welcomes consideration of further measures that would be effective in working to restore the democratic path.
Ireland continues to provide support to the people of Myanmar through humanitarian aid. Ireland provided total humanitarian funding of almost €2.4 million to Myanmar and to the Rohingya crisis in 2023. This included grants to both civil society organisations and UN agencies, with €500,000 and €1 million respectively provided to the OCHA Myanmar Humanitarian Fund and to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Ireland's total pledge to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, a major donor to Myanmar, was €16 million in 2023. In 2024, Ireland will provide increased support of €1 million to the OCHA Myanmar Humanitarian Fund and €1.5 million to the UNHCR. Through Ireland’s Civil Society Partnership (ICSP) Chronic Humanitarian Funding Crises Stream 2, almost €790,000 will be provided to Trócaire and Christian Aid Ireland for their humanitarian programmes in Myanmar in 2024.
