Dáil Statement by the Tánaiste on South Africa vs. Israel Proceedings

Check against delivery

Ceann Comhairle,

I table these amendments on behalf of the government.

All of us in this House are united in our view that what is happening in Gaza must stop. There should and must be a ceasefire.

All of us here – and all of the Irish people – are appalled by what we see unfolding.

1.9 million people have been displaced from their homes and have nowhere safe to go. At least 10,000 of the 26,000 Palestinians that have been killed in Gaza since October are children. 90% of the 2.3 million people in Gaza are now acutely food insecure and that the UN is warning of a real risk of famine.

No one in this House believes that any of this is acceptable.

We all want an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of hostages and a massive scale up in humanitarian assistance.

We are agreed on these fundamental objectives. The question is what the most effective way of is making them happen.

I have been clear from the start of this horrible conflict that Ireland needs to use all the tools we have at our disposal – political, legal, diplomatic and humanitarian.

That is the approach that the government has taken from the start.

It is why we were one of the first countries in the EU to call for a humanitarian ceasefire;

It’s why we voted for UN General Assembly resolutions in November and December which reiterated this call;

why we made immediate additional humanitarian funding available for Palestine;

why we worked day and night to facilitate 56 Irish citizens to leave Gaza and to secure the release of Emily Hand;

why I travelled to the region in November and met with Egyptian, Palestinian and Israeli leaders;

why I have spent many talking to EU counterparts and Arab leaders about how we can bring an end to the misery in Gaza;

why I told the Israeli Minister for Foreign Affairs at the EU Foreign Affairs Council last week that we believed that some of their military actions in Gaza amounted to war crimes, and that their disinformation and de-legitimisation campaign against the UN was unacceptable and must stop;

why our Attorney General will travel to The Hague next month to participate in the proceedings at the International Court of Justice on a case on the legality of Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories;

why Ireland has been at the forefront of pushing for EU sanctions against violent settlers displacing Palestinian communities in the West Bank;

why I am in ongoing consultations with Jordan and other Arab partners about a potential Arab peace plan, and how Ireland and other like-minded EU states can contribute to it;

why I was the first Foreign Minister in the world – in the world – to express my full confidence in the UNRWA Commissioner General on Saturday, when news of the possible participation of a small number of UNRWA employees in the heinous attacks of 7 October broke, and others were deciding to halt funding to UNRWA’s essential work.

It is why I, and the government, will take a serious, rigorous, and informed approach to South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice under the Genocide Convention.

We will not be distracted by political posturing or one-upmanship. The government will analyse the issue thoroughly and then make its decision.

Our approach to this conflict, and our efforts to do everything possible to end it, is widely admired and respected internationally.

I don’t doubt the sincerity and strength of feeling in this House about the situation in Gaza, which reflects the deep sense of solidarity with the Palestine felt by Irish people.

But I cannot help but be puzzled by the disconnect between what I hear in this Chamber and what I hear internationally. What we hear from the opposition benches is that the government should be ashamed – of not doing enough, of not representing the will of the Irish people, of letting down the Palestinian people.

But shame is not the word I hear outside this House.

Shame is not the word I hear from our partners in Palestine and across the Arab world and the Global South; from the UN agencies and civil society organisations that we work with.

What I hear from them is gratitude for the principled position taken by Ireland; for our tireless work and advocacy internationally; and our political, financial, diplomatic, and moral support for Palestine.

I hear requests for us to maintain our position; to continue to be a principled and effective voice within the EU, UN and in bilateral contacts.

I value these voices. Not because they tell me what I want to hear, but because they remind me that what we are doing matters; that we have impact, particularly if we can bring others with us.

Ceann Comhairle,

I made very clear last week how the government intend to proceed in relation to South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ.

We will analyse the detail of the provisional measures ordered by the Court last Friday; my officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs are undertaking this analysis as we speak.

We are consulting with partners – indeed, officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs have already met their South African counterparts and I have spoken to a number of EU partners.

We will consider whether to make an intervention in the right way and at the right time.

This is the right approach – the only approach - if we are serious about delivering accountability.

The International Court of Justice is not a debating society. It is a legal institution, the cornerstone of the international judicial system.

The opposition continue to call for Ireland to ‘join’ South Africa’s case, even though they know that this is not how the Court works.

Casual and inaccurate references to this case are profoundly unhelpful and irresponsible. They seek to sow division within this House and the wider public on an issue upon which there is broad unity.

The 1948 Genocide Convention was drawn up and adopted in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, as a direct response to the unrivalled cataclysm of the Holocaust inflicted upon the Jewish people in Europe by Nazi Germany.

Genocide was described as the ‘denial of the right of existence of entire human groups,’ which ‘shocks the conscience of mankind’ and, as such, constitutes a crime under international law.

It is the gravest accusation. It should not be made lightly.

This explains why, since 1948, only four other interstate cases have been initiated under the Genocide Convention before the International Court of Justice – and one of those was to challenge an entirely false allegation of genocide and its use as a pretext for aggression.

Intervention as a third party in a case before the International Court of Justice is a complex matter and is relatively rare.

Before Ukraine initiated proceedings against Russia under the Genocide Convention in 2022, only four states had ever sought to intervene under Article 63 of the Court’s Statute and, of those, the Court declared only two of the interventions admissible.

In respect of the Ukraine v Russia case, of the 32 interventions declared admissible, not one made a declaration of intervention before Ukraine had filed its memorial with the Court, which itself was four months after the orders for provisional measures.

Of course, the Ukraine case was quite different to that brought by South Africa as it was primarily focussed on refuting Russia’s claim that it had invaded to prevent genocide within Ukraine.

An intervention under Article 63 must satisfy a number of criteria to be deemed admissible by the Court. The Court has also interpreted the term ‘genocide’ very narrowly, so that what might in ordinary parlance be described as ‘genocide’ does not correspond with its definition under the Genocide Convention and its interpretation by the Court.

These are the facts.

They may not be facts that fit neatly into a slogan to be shouted or a 90 second clip for TikTok.

But they are important, because any credible – any admissible - intervention in this case, or any other case, must respect them.

If what we are seeking is accountability, rather than political grandstanding, then is it essential that we do this properly. And, let me repeat again, this is exactly the same approach we took in relation to the Ukraine v Russia case.

Ceann Comhairle,

For all these reasons, the government has put forward a number of amendments to the motion. The amendments are clear and factual and reiterate the position we set out in the House last week. I have also asked my officials to provide technical briefings to members of the Opposition, to outline the substance of the Genocide Convention itself and the Court’s rulings in previous cases.

I also want to highlight how important it is that we do not lose sight of the need to hold all parties to this conflict to account for their actions. Irrespective of whether any of Israel’s actions are eventually judged by the ICJ to meet the threshold of genocide, the Court cannot investigate the actions of Hamas. Nor does this case comprehensively cover war crimes and crimes against humanity.

This is where the role of the International Criminal Court – and the investigation by the ICC’s Prosecutor – remains absolutely essential. This investigation covers the horrific events of 7 October as well as the current situation in Gaza; it also includes all potential crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court from 2014 onwards, not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including genocidal acts.

Ceann Comhairle,

The provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in Gaza was one of several important provisional measures ordered by the Court.

As the House is aware, UNRWA is at the centre of humanitarian operations and basic services provision in Gaza. In the light of serious allegations that 12 UNRWA employees participated on 7 October attacks in Israel, the Commissioner General has immediately terminated the contracts of a number of employees. The UN will investigate thoroughly and as a matter of urgency.

These allegations are extremely serious. If proven, the individuals concerned must be held to account. There can be no doubt about this.

However, I am deeply concerned that many UNRWA donors have stopped funding with immediate effect.

I have made clear that Ireland has no plans to suspend funding to UNRWA. I have full confidence in the UNRWA leadership to ensure that its zero-tolerance policy for anyone involved in violence or terror is upheld. The allegations that have been made are in respect of the actions of 12 staff members, in an organisation that employs 30,000 people, with 13,000 in Gaza alone.

There has never been greater urgency for UNRWA to be able to fulfil its mandate. It is the only organisation with the capacity to deliver aid in sufficient quantities in Gaza. 2.3 million civilians in Gaza can be the ones to pay the price for possible criminal actions by 12 people.

Ceann Comhairle,

Our focus today is on Gaza, and rightly so. But we cannot lose sight of the wider regional environment. The potential for further escalation remains high. The attack on a US base in Jordan this weekend, with at least three US service people killed and many more injured is unacceptable and deeply concerning. I would like to offer my sincere condolences to the United States and to the families of those killed.

All countries with influence in the region, not least those with influence on non-state actors, must use this for de-escalation. I have made this point repeatedly, including directly to the Iranian Foreign Minister, and I will continue to do so.

In closing, I would like to reiterate that the government’s focus will remain on using every avenue to end this conflict in Gaza. However, remote the possibility may seem, the only possible solution can be through political means; through a process which respects the right of self-determination for the Palestinian people, and which delivers peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis alike.