Richard Boyd Barrett demands sanctions, cites Genocide Convention
Richard Boyd Barrett challenged the Minister in the Dáil over the EU's refusal to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement and announced the Sanctions Against Israel Bill to be brought on 14 May. He argued Ireland has moral and legal obligations under the Genocide Convention to act in response to alleged crimes by Israel.
Richard Boyd Barrett pressed the Minister on why the European Union has not suspended the EU Association Agreement with Israel and asked whether Ireland will fulfil obligations under the Genocide Convention. He told the Dáil that his Sanctions Against Israel Bill has been selected from the lottery and will call for comprehensive economic, political and diplomatic sanctions.
The Sanctions Against Israel Bill, slated for debate on 14 May, seeks to impose comprehensive economic, political and diplomatic sanctions on Israel. Boyd Barrett framed the measure as a legal and moral response under the Genocide Convention, arguing that signatories are required to act to prevent genocide.
The Minister responded that Ireland had engaged other EU Member States to advance a proposal at European level but lacked enough support. The Minister rejected allegations of complicity and stressed that sanctions are typically pursued at EU level where trade policy has greatest impact and to avoid disproportionate harm to Ireland.
Boyd Barrett's exchange highlights a wider tension between national obligations under international law and the constraints of EU decision-making. The debate puts pressure on the Government to explain whether Ireland will act independently of EU consensus and how it interprets its obligations under the Genocide Convention.
What happened
Richard Boyd Barrett pressed the Minister on why the European Union has not suspended the EU Association Agreement with Israel and asked whether Ireland will fulfil obligations under the Genocide Convention. He told the Dáil that his Sanctions Against Israel Bill has been selected from the lottery and will call for comprehensive economic, political and diplomatic sanctions.
Details of the bill
The Sanctions Against Israel Bill, slated for debate on 14 May, seeks to impose comprehensive economic, political and diplomatic sanctions on Israel. Boyd Barrett framed the measure as a legal and moral response under the Genocide Convention, arguing that signatories are required to act to prevent genocide.
Government response
The Minister responded that Ireland had engaged other EU Member States to advance a proposal at European level but lacked enough support. The Minister rejected allegations of complicity and stressed that sanctions are typically pursued at EU level where trade policy has greatest impact and to avoid disproportionate harm to Ireland.
Political implications
Boyd Barrett's exchange highlights a wider tension between national obligations under international law and the constraints of EU decision-making. The debate puts pressure on the Government to explain whether Ireland will act independently of EU consensus and how it interprets its obligations under the Genocide Convention.
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Transcript
Minister, the failure of the European Union to suspend the EU Association Agreement with Israel is an absolute disgrace. Do you agree it is a disgrace, given that Israel is in the dock for genocide and has instigated a murderous and illegal war against Lebanon and Iran? Do you agree, and if your excuse is Europe won't do anything we tried, do you feel that Ireland has any responsibility to do anything in face of the crimes that Israel is committing? And specifically, do you think we have any obligations under the Genocide Convention? On the 14th of May, I have a bill coming before the Dáil, luckily it's been selected from the lottery, the Sanctions Against Israel Bill, which calls for us to impose comprehensive economic, political and diplomatic sanctions on Israel because of our obligations under the Genocide Convention, which require signatories to act to prevent genocide. Do you accept that under the Genocide Convention, regardless of EU hypocrisy, double standards, refusal to move, that we as signatories of that Convention have an obligation, moral and legal, to act against the crimes that Israel is committing? It's a simple question. With regard to the European Council, with regard to the Foreign Affairs Council on the EU-Israel Association Agreement, is as I said it was, that the Irish Government has engaged other Member States to try to bring forward a proposal, which is sitting there actually, but needs to be supported by a sufficient number of Member States. We were not able to do that. And that's a fact. But what I would encourage, which we are doing, and encourage everybody else to do, is engage other Member States to see why they don't agree with us. And they have other reasons for this. And I also reject utterly any suggestions that somehow this Government or politicians in this Government are somehow connected or complicit or whatever the phraseology that the protesters use and your colleagues in political life use about complicity and genocide. I totally reject that. We have always stood firm on the side of democracy. We've always stood firm on the side of human rights. But to start throwing those allegations around the House I think is completely wrong. Any sanctions packages that we've ever done, we've really done in recent times at a European level, because that's where trade policy is and also that's where you have the most impact. But no sanctions have ever been done where the damage to us would be greater than the harm that we're trying to seek to impose to change ways. And if you're setting out a policy such as you are, you have to set it out to the people, the economic consequences in Ireland for your various proposals.