2026-03-26

71. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade whether she supports the calls from Colombian President Gustavo Petros for states to invoke Resolution 377, the UN’s uniting for peace mechanism in relation to Gaza; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22633/26]

Staying with the issue of Gaza, I accept the Minister's point that we all want to work together and make progress towards peace but what we have now is Trump's odious, so-called Board of Peace, which is anything but that. Would the Minister and the Irish State support the calls from the Colombian President, Gustavo Petro, for states to invoke UN Resolution 377, the UN's uniting for peace mechanism in relation to Gaza? If we are to work together, the UN remains the best place to do that.

I agree with the Deputy that the UN is the best place for all of us to work together and Ireland, as a member and a partner, will always stand up for and advocate for the UN and its structures. We understand how important it has been, not just in this conflict but in many conflicts and, most important, in its resolutions over decades. In relation to the uniting for peace resolution, Ireland will always take part in and be a part of any structure or grouping with member states that can provide a way forward. The resolution itself provides for an emergency session of the General Assembly to be called on matters where a lack of unanimity in the Security Council prevents action in relation to international peace and security. Since 1997, there has been an emergency special session dedicated specifically to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory. The fact that it has been resumed over 20 times since it was established, including on multiple occasions since the outbreak of the war in Gaza on 7 October 2023, is a reflection of the importance that the international community and the UN give to the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory. Ireland will continue to actively participate in this special emergency session. It is important, however, to acknowledge what the uniting for peace resolution can and cannot do. The resolution itself does not create any obligation on the Security Council or any other body of the United Nations to act, nor is it binding on any UN member state. No effective mandates for action in the areas of peace and security can be created by the General Assembly. It is not possible for the General Assembly to authorise a peacekeeping mission, for example, as it would lack the robust mandate required for such a mission to function effectively. Nevertheless, as we have seen in relation to the situation in Palestine, the consideration of any issue by the General Assembly is an important and impactful opportunity for each member state, including Ireland, to speak in defence of the protection of the fundamental values of the United Nations, as we have done, and to outline the horrors that have been happening and continue to happen in Gaza. In addition to our participation in this, we take every opportunity to reiterate our support for that just and sustainable peace by always intervening.

I thank the Minister. I am fully aware of the limits and obligations of the uniting for peace resolution. However, we are in a desperate situation. The ceasefire is Gaza is a ceasefire only in name. Bombardments continue. People continue to be killed daily. Aid continues to be blocked. Earlier this week, three planned UN convoys to collect supplies from the crossing had to be cancelled after the Israeli authorities informed the UN that only fuel would be let in that day. Most crossings into Gaza remain closed. Only Karem Abu Salem, Karem Shalom, is opened with some regularity. That presents a major bottleneck. Close to 20,000 patients are in dire need of medical care outside Gaza and cannot get out. Settler violence in the West Bank continues apace. We are in a desperate situation. The UN is paralysed. The Security Council is paralysed. I know the General Assembly has been in emergency session but it is not pushing hard enough to provide some kind of alternative to Trump's Board of Peace.

I agree with the Deputy. My biggest concern is that the ongoing conflict in the wider region of the Middle East will take away our focus on our priority, which should be trying to find a way forward for the civilians in Gaza. We are, and I am, absolutely determined to ensure that will not be the case. At every meeting we have had, even where it related specifically to the ongoing conflict in Iran, I have raised the situation in Gaza and the need for us to make progress. I have raised what is happening in the West Bank. I have raised what is now, unfortunately, happening in Lebanon, where there is clearly an annexation happening in the south. I have said consistently that we need to do more. While I believe that some progress has been made through the Board of Peace and the new board that has been established to try to bring about a structure in Palestine, it is not happening quickly enough. People are not able to get in. Many of them are still situated in Cairo. On top of that, as the Deputy has mentioned, in regard to the number of aid trucks and the amount of aid that is getting in, while my understanding from talking to ambassadors on the ground is that the situation has slightly improved, it is nowhere near where it needs to be. If we can, through the General Assembly and the UN structures, continue to raise these issues, we will. We need to do everything we can to bring about action. That is what we need. We need more trucks and openings and more progress on the Board of Peace.

That is what I want. What is the Irish Government's position on the Board of Peace? Are we in favour of it? Are we backing this board or are we remaining silent and seeing what, if anything, it manages to achieve? It seems we are paralysed in terms of calling it out. The Government needs to support Resolution 377 A at the UN. We need to pass the occupied territories Bill in full. Deputy Ó Laoghaire articulated that clearly and eloquently a few moments ago. We must pressure the Israeli authorities to enable full, safe, sustainable humanitarian access and movement into Gaza and the West Bank with the complete opening of all border crossings. We must pressure the Israeli authorities to reverse the annexation and end the unlawful occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with the dismantlement of settlements. The UN Security Council is paralysed. Our voice has always been powerful in the UN. We need to bring it, as loudly as we can, to the UN General Assembly. I believe that although it is in a weakened position, it is the best avenue towards some kind of resolution.

We have not joined the Board of Peace and have been clear in our reason for not doing so. We do not believe that any other structure should be mirroring the work of the UN at all. It is doing work with a particular focus on Gaza. That is why it was established. That was the UN resolution for which we and everybody else voted so that a structure would be put in place to support the redevelopment of Gaza and so that we could provide a clear pathway and future with a ceasefire for people on the ground. We support the structure that has emerged from the Board of Peace. What we really need is to ensure that the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian people are included in the work that is progressing. While they are not on the board in the way we want them to be, a number of structures have been put in place to try to ensure that they are consulted and engaged with, and that they are very much a part of any future that is decided. The problem is that it is not happening quickly enough. We have met the chair and those who are leading this. It is not happening quickly enough. As this conflict in the Middle East continues, we need to ensure that a focus is retained. At every opportunity that I have with my colleagues at the Foreign Affairs Council, that the Taoiseach has at the European Council and that my other colleagues have, we are trying to keep that pressure on to ensure that while work is progressing, albeit wholly imperfectly, we do more in terms of aid and access. We will continue to provide that.