Labour to use Dáil time to mandate the Taoiseach to move a motion at UN seeking an international peacekeeping force for Gaza
Labour to use Dáil time to mandate the Taoiseach to move a motion at UN seeking an international peacekeeping force for Gaza - The Labour Party
The Labour Party will use its Dáil Private Members time on Wednesday (28th May) at 10am to push the Government to take action for Gaza.
Co-signed by Sinn Fein, the Social Democrats, the Green Party and Independent TD Catherine Connolly, the motion calls for collective measures to enable the development of a lasting ceasefire for Gaza.
The Labour Party will be joined by NGOs for a protest for peace at Leinster House on Wednesday 28th May at 5pm.
Speaking in advance of the motion, Labour foreign affairs spokesperson Duncan Smith TD said:
“The UN must act and Ireland must lead in the calls for a sustainable and lasting ceasefire for Gaza. Israel is blocking humanitarian aid and carrying out a genocide in Gaza. The world must act now to stop Israel’s total war of destruction.
“More than 55,000 people – including 15,000 children –have been killed in Gaza since 7th October 2023, and a further 290,000 children are on the brink of death. 14,000 of them are likely to die of starvation before the weekend if humanitarian aid is not allowed back into Gaza.
“The United Nations Security Council has failed to carry out its primary responsibility to maintain international peace. During Private Members’ Time in the Dáil next Wednesday, Labour will demand that the Irish Government table an emergency resolution at the UN to call this out, and to allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza to save lives.
“Ireland is a small country but we have fierce diplomatic power and we must use it now to end the horrors that continue to unfold in front of our eyes in Gaza. Ireland must stand with Palestinian children and civilians. It is our moral obligation to bring the United Nations to task on this.
“If Government accept our proposals, it will mandate the Irish Government to table an emergency resolution at the UN General Assembly, noting the failure of the Security Council to protect the people of Gaza and calling for collective measures to stop Netanyahu’s genocidal campaign.
“The Opposition are gifting this Government the opportunity to be a global leader, to be remembered in the history books as a nation that acted for the right of Palestinian people to exist. I hope that they take it and support the Labour Party motion on Wednesday.”