Tag Archives: EU

#EU must Coordinate United Approach to Middle East Humanitarian Crisis

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EU must Coordinate United Approach to Middle East Humanitarian Crisis – FF

Appointment of new High Representative for Foreign Affairs key in offering credible voice on international stage

brendan-smith
Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Brendan Smith TD has stated that the European Union must coordinate its approach in seeking to address the horrific humanitarian crisis which is ongoing in Syria, Gaza and Iraq. The recently published UN Report showing that the number of Syrian refugees is now over 3 million people should spur a renewed effort from the EU in seeking to assist those who find themselves without a home as a result of the conflict there. The EU must also develop a Union wide response to the threat from the terrorist group Isis and ensure that all Member States are prepared and have a strategy to deal with the return of Islamic combatants to Europe.

Deputy Smith stated: “The news this week that the number of Syrian refugees has now gone beyond 3 million is shocking and shows the enormous crisis which is developing on Europe’s doorstep. This figure publish by the United Nations does not include hundreds of thousands of others who fled without registering as refugees. The conditions within the country now are increasingly horrifying and the UN report states that people are going hungry and civilians are being targeted or indiscriminately killed.”

“Similarly in Gaza, the recent conflict has displaced about a fourth of Gaza’s population. Nearly 60,000 people have lost their homes. The damage to infrastructure there is more severe than the destruction caused by either of the last two Gaza wars according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Yet the humanitarian assistance required in Gaza has not materialised in a timely or effective way due to the unstable peace which has been declared. The EU must impress on the rest of the international community that they must honour their obligations and commitments to increase humanitarian assistance for the Middle East region.”

“Europe must provide a coordinated plan of humanitarian assistance to ensure that EU aid and foreign policy helps those who have been displaced and challenges those who have prolonged these conflicts. The EU too must be vigilant against the possible radicalisation of its citizens from returning combatants in the conflicts in Iraq and Syria. We must develop a comprehensive strategy to guard against the infiltration of Jihadists within our societies. The EU must take every action necessary to help those seeking to defeat the terrorist group known as Isis and protect our borders from their ideas and their people.”

“I would urge European leaders gathering at the weekend’s meeting of the European Council to agree as quickly as possible to the appointment of a new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy who can provide a united European voice. The failure to appoint a new High Representative in July undermined the EU’s credibility on the international stage, especially at a time of such unrest in the world. Europe needs a strong voice now more than ever. This appointment must be made without delay.”
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NOTE: This statement was issued on August 29th, 2014.

@FiannaFailparty condemns further violence in #Gaza and rising anti-semitism in Europe

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Attacks on Gaza

Attacks on Gaza

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Brendan Smith TD, has condemned the resumption of violence in Gaza following failed negotiations to extend the original humanitarian ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

Deputy Smith also strongly criticised the large number of rockets which were fired from Gaza towards Israel after a 72-hour ceasefire expired at 8am local time.

“Over the past number of weeks the Fianna Fáil Party have strongly and consistently condemned the actions of the Israeli Defence Forces in their attacks on innocent people in Gaza resulting in huge loss of life and suffering for so many. Fianna Fáil have always advocated for the lifting of the blockade on Gaza and a full return to peaceful negotiations with the aim of establishing a two-state solution based on pre-1967 borders. In recent weeks, the world has witnessed the slaughter of innocent people in Gaza and a new low was reached when UN schools and refugee centres were attacked by Israeli forces.

“There is a need for peace, not a resumption of violence. This is very tragic news coming from Gaza today and begins another period of attacks which will result in the killing of innocent civilians from both sides of the conflict. I condemn in the strongest terms the rockets fired at Israeli targets ending the humanitarian ceasefire which began three days ago.

“The Irish Government and the European Union must seek to influence both Israel and Hamas in exercising restraint. In particular, schools and refugee camps run by the United Nations must not be targeted in any way. The international community must raise its voice in objection to any such attacks by either side in this conflict. Work must also continue by those who can initiate a pathway to peace to build on the discussions already begun in Egypt.

“I along with many Irish citizens will be taking part in anti-war demonstrations across Ireland at the weekend. Ireland has had a long interest in the challenges in the Middle East and has always acted out of experience from our own troubled history and out of an over-riding respect for and belief in human rights for all people across the world. Successive Fianna Fáil Minsters for Foreign Affairs have consistently spoken out in favour of a peaceful, equitable and a fair and lasting settlement in the Middle-East. We have always championed the causes of oppressed countries in the world at the United Nations and in other international fora.

“The world, and in particular Europe, must ensure that the current conflict in the Middle East does not result in any anti-Semitic behaviour occurring in our countries. There have been some very disturbing reports of rising anti-Semitic behaviour in Europe. All right thinking people deplore anti-Semitism. It must not be tolerated in any of its forms in society. Let the message go out from Ireland that we are for peace, human rights and equality in the Middle East. We are not a country engaged in anti-Semitic behaviour and any suggestion of same could only be seen for the outrageous comment that it is.”

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This statement was issued on Friday August 8th and also appears on the Fianna Fáil website:    http://www.fiannafail.ie/news/entry/11481/

FF calls for Govt to demand urgent EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting to discuss #Gaza-Israel crisis @eucouncil

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Fianna Fáil calls for Government to demand urgent EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting to discuss Gaza-Israel crisis

Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Foreign Affairs Brendan Smith TD is calling on the Government to seek a special meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council to discuss the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. The EU’s lack of intervention, as well as its abstention from a UN resolution to establish a commission of inquiry into human rights violations in Gaza and condemning Israel for potential violations of international law, has angered many people in Ireland.

Deputy Smith commented, “I am calling on Minister Charlie Flanagan to seek an urgent meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council to address the escalating humanitarian disaster in Gaza. The Israeli ground invasion has entered its fourth week. More than 1,800 Palestinians and over 60 Israelis have been killed in the violence. Images of badly injured women and children have dominated our TV screens for the past month demonstrating so clearly the scale of the situation.

“All loss of life must be condemned in the strongest possible terms, but the bombing of UN schools and designated shelters by the Israeli military is intolerable. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemned the latest attack on a school in Rafah as a “moral outrage and a criminal act”.

“The EU cannot be allowed to continue with its hands-off approach and must be spurred into action. How many more lives will have been lost before the Foreign Affairs Council meets again? How many more innocent civilians must suffer before the EU and the international community can be forced into action? Measures must be taken to stop the bloodshed.

“EU Ministers must change their approach and demand a ceasefire in the region to allow for meaningful talks to take place. Violence solves nothing, discussions and mediated negotiations are our only hope of a resolution to this decades old conflict. The current wave of aggression must be stopped and the EU, led by Ireland if necessary, should impose sanctions on goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements. The EU needs to take a tougher, but united stance and prove that indiscriminate killings and maimings are not acceptable. It needs to go further than it has to date, and I am urging the Government here to play its part and seek a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council at the earliest possible date”.

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Smith condemns ongoing slaughter of children in Gaza

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Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Foreign Affairs Brendan Smith TD has condemned yesterday’s attack in Gaza which resulted in the loss of the lives of eight children and two adults in a playground. The UN’s children’s fund says there is no safe place in Gaza for children, as the death toll from the conflict continues to rise daily.

Deputy Smith commented, “The continued slaughter of children in Gaza is completely unacceptable and inhumane. Any loss of life is deplorable, but the killing of a child is particularly appalling. As the conflict between Gaza and Israel escalates, it is becoming more apparent that innocent civilians and children are accounting for a disproportionate number of the casualties and fatalities.

“The sustained rocket attacks on both sides of the border should be condemned at the highest level, however, the Government here has shown little leadership in this matter, choosing to abstain from a UN Human Rights Council resolution to set up a commission of inquiry into atrocities in Gaza as well as refusing a Dáil debate on the issue.

“There needs to be clear message from the international community that the level of violence being used by Israel against Gaza is disproportionate and should not be tolerated. We have always acknowledged Israel’s right to defend and protect itself, but the level of violence demonstrated in recent weeks, and particularly over the last few days has been excessive.

“I am backing calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, to limit the number of civilian deaths. It is imperative that the situation is not allowed to intensify. Too many innocent lives have already been destroyed in this conflict, and the increasing death toll is unacceptable. Concerted diplomatic efforts must be made to find a resolution to the current situation, and all available mediation and conciliation agencies should be used to bring about a peaceful end to the ongoing atrocities”.

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EU ignoring the crisis in Iraq: ethnic cleansing of Christians by #ISIS

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EU ignoring Iraqi displacement crisis – Smith

Brendan Smith TD in Dáil Éireann

Brendan Smith TD in Dáil Éireann

Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Foreign Affairs Brendan Smith TD is calling on Minister Charlie Flanagan to prioritise the escalating displacement crisis in Iraq and to move this situation up the European agenda at the next meeting of EU Foreign Ministers. France has now offered asylum to the thousands of Christians, who have been forced to flee their homes because of the threat from the Islamist jihadists group ISIS.

Deputy Smith commented:

“What is happening in Northern Iraq is appalling. ISIS is engaged in very straightforward, brutal, but largely unreported ethnic cleansing. Northern Iraq was home to one of the oldest Christian communities on earth, with Mosul having been a centre of Christianity for almost 2,000 years. Today, under death threats, the Christian community has fled in what has been described as the largest mass flight of Christians in the Middle East since the Armenian massacres and the expulsions of Christians from Turkey after the First World War.

Before the allied invasion in 2003 there were around 1 million Christians living in Iraq. Almost three quarters have left following the onset of the civil war and targeted attacks by jihadist terrorists.

Deputy Smith continued:

“Fianna Fáil has raised this issue in the Dáil with the former Tánaiste, but we have been deeply disappointed by the Government’s apparent disinterest in what is happening. Sectarian displacement on this scale should be a cause for much greater concern for policy makers across Europe than it has been to date – I would like to see Ireland taking a lead role in moving this situation further up the agenda at a European level.

“There are many very difficult conflicts and legitimate demands on international attention at the moment; however we need to be careful that this massacre, which is truly historic in scale, does not simply pass unnoticed and unchallenged. Minister Flanagan has an opportunity in his new role to shine a light on the situation in Iraq, and I would urge him to raise the issue with his European counterparts at their next meeting”.

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Ireland’s Abstention on Gaza Vote at UN is a: ‘Dereliction of Proud History in Foreign Affairs’

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Attacks on Gaza

Attacks on Gaza

In a joint statement, Fianna Fáil Leader Micheál Martin TD and Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Brendan Smith TD have criticised Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan’s decision that Ireland should abstain from a UN Human Rights Council resolution to set up a commission of inquiry into atrocities in Gaza.

They commented:

“Like many people across the country, we listened in disbelief to the news that Ireland had joined other European states in abstaining from the vote at the UN Human Rights Council. What is happening in Gaza is an outrage and it is happening in plain sight.”

“If the international community is not able to find the moral courage to speak out on an issue which is as clearly unacceptable as the killing of young children or the bombing of a UN school housing refugees, one is left to wonder what level of atrocity is needed before we say stop.”

“The attempt to justify our abstention on the basis that the resolution did not adequately condemn rocket attacks by both sides is depressing. We utterly condemn the reckless attempt to target civilians using rocket attacks, but does that mean that we cannot also put our name to a resolution to investigate the slaughter of four innocent children on a Gaza beach?”

“Ireland once had a proud tradition of strong, principled and independent foreign affairs policy. The decision to sit on our hands and abstain from what should have been a very clear position on this UN resolution is a dereliction of this country’s proud history in foreign and humanitarian affairs.”

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