President Higgins says UN Security Council failing as Gaza suffers ‘forced starvation'; thousands march in Dublin protest
Speaking at the National Famine Commemoration in Kilmallock, Co Limerick, today, Mr Higgins said starvation is 'being used as an instrument of war' and that the population of Gaza is being subjected to 'forced starvation'.
He quoted UN Secretary General António Guterres, who said: 'As aid dries up, the floodgates of horror have re-opened... Gaza is a killing field – and civilians are in an endless death loop.'
He said the Irish Government is asking EU member states to work to avoid what will be 'a massive loss of life' in Gaza.
He added that aid trucks carrying vital food, medicine and water are currently blocked at 'three entry points to Gaza', including two Irish aid trucks.
This comes as thousands of people marched in the streets of Dublin this afternoon to call for action against the Israeli bombing of Gaza by the Irish government.
The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign organised the 'end the genocide' rally in Dublin and called for sanctions against Israel.
During his speech, Mr Higgins called on the UN General Assembly to act when the Security Council 'fails' to deal with current famines.
'When the Security Council fails us as it does again and again, in responding to what I have been describing as the current conditions, we must return to the exceptional measures that are available to us that I remember discussing at the time of the Iraq war, that are available from the General Assembly,' he said.
"The General Assembly must speak and act if in fact the Security Council refuses to deal with the terrible famines that are now facing us in those parts of the world."
Speaking at the event in Co Limerick, Mr Higgins said the recurrence of famine is 'a great human failure' as he said people in Yemen and Sudan also suffer 'hunger and famine created by conflict'.
He said the collapse humanitarian aid and assistance has left a significantly reduced humanitarian capacity.
He said the Horn of Africa has experienced 'devastating hunger' three times in three decades, adding; 'On each occasion, the world said 'never again' when details of the famine were reported to the United Nations. Yet, each time, famine has returned.'
He said the world is 'witnessing dangerous breaches and challenges to human rights around the world – be it in the plight of those enduring the horrific consequences of avoidable war and conflict, including food insecurity, the reappearance of old hatreds and the arrival of new forms of the scourges of hatred, racism and intolerance'.
Mr Higgins said National Famine Commemoration Day is a 'a solemn opportunity for the people of this island to reflect on and recall those who perished, the suffering and loss experienced by our Irish people in that cataclysmic period in our history to which we refer to as An Gorta Mór'.
"No other event in our history can be likened to the Great Famine for its immediate tragic impact, or its role in creating a massive increase in desperate and involuntary emigration, cultural loss, increased decline of the Irish language, and a general demoralisation of Irish shared life,' he said.
Over one million people died during the famine and over two million emigrated between 1845 and 1852, with a commemoration event today featuring a wreath-laying ceremony and other tributes to those who died.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Frances Black ‘98pc sure' she won't run for presidency
The Independent senator was speaking as she announced details of a High Court action against the listing of Airbnb properties in the occupied Palestinian territories. Since tabling the Occupied Territories Bill she has been linked to running in the presidential election due to take place later this year. She has told the Irish Independent she is '98pc sure that I won't be running' but is leaving open the two per cent possibility 'because I have a responsibility – if people are coming to me – to consider that.' Asked if she was in discussions with parties of the left about being their agreed candidate, she said: 'Initially they came to me in February. I have had no conversations since. So it has just grown out of all proportion.' If she was to run under a left banner it would 'of course be all parties of the left,' she said, including Sinn Féin. The draft version of the Occupied Territories Bill – first tabled by Senator Black in 2018 to ban trade with Israeli entities based in the Occupied Palestinian Territories – is expected to be published this week. It will be referred to an Oireachtas committee which will hold three meetings to scrutinise it, before being voted on in the Oireachtas. It is unlikely that the current timeframe of being passed before the summer can be met. Ms Black said she is 'absolutely 100pc certain' that it is legally possible to include trade in goods in this Bill. She was speaking at the launch of a set of coordinated legal actions being taken in the US, UK and Ireland targeting Airbnb listings is Israel's illegal settlements in Occupied Palestinian territories. Airbnb has over 300 accommodations listed in illegal settlements and while it previously said they would be removed that decision was since reversed. A number of organisations including the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN) as well as the Ireland Palestine Alliance have launched a High Court action challenging 'the refusal of gardaí to investigate Airbnb Ireland and its senior executives for alleged criminal activity in Israeli settlements'. The group said: 'The acts of land appropriation, displacement and transfer of civilian population into occupied territory that facilitate the Israeli settlements are defined as war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law and related Irish legislation.'
Sunday World
2 hours ago
- Sunday World
Terror chief ‘Harmless' Harry Stockman on brink of being kicked out of the UVF
Stockman's desperate attempt to save pal Irvine from the chop have backfired and he could be gone within a week The paramilitary leader is said to be staring down the barrel as restless members turn their sights on him after years of corruption and he is set to follow close associate Winston `Winkie' Irvine out the door. Stockman's desperate attempt to save pal Irvine from the chop have backfired and he could be gone within a week. A vote of no-confidence has been called and Stockman will find himself on the outside after years of lining his pockets on the back of the UVF name. His friend Irvine's fate was sealed at a secret Battalion meeting this week and brings to an end a long criminal career and a charmed existence. Irvine, long time commander of UVF B Company in the Woodvale, is a wealthy man, thanks in part to a string of publicly-funded jobs – but more directly as a result of his criminal activities including racketeering and drugs. According to sources, he was also responsible for ordering beatings and forcing people from their homes, all of which made him a hate figure. The British and Irish governments turned a blind eye to his activities in the hope he was the man who could deliver the UVF away from criminality. Now, members of the terror group believe he was the under the control of British security services. This week, the Sunday World can reveal the chain of events that led to Irvine's expulsion and the shake up at the top of the organisation in decades. Irvine is said to be stunned at his expulsion, believing the leadership of Stockman and chief of staff John `Bunter' Graham had his back. But Graham saw the writing on the wall during a meeting of 1st Battalion UVF, attended by Brigade staff, company commanders, and senior members. They demanded Winkie's head and Bunter granted them their wish. With Irvine gone and Stockman likely to follow him out the door it raises fresh questions about the future of Graham himself. After more than four decades as chief of staff he now appears isolated. His ailing health could see him stepping down. Stockman would have been seen as his natural successor but with his fate all but sealed, the smart money is on Shankill commander Sam Austin, according to source. Allegedly the leader of the unit, he is a popular figure and is believed to have been one of the loudest calling for Irvine and Stockman to be expelled. The son of legendary UVF commander, the late Sam 'Pinky' Austin, he is seen as a safe pair of hands and is anti-drugs. He is vehemently anti-drugs having lost his son Dan to an accidental overdose in 2018. Graham had come under pressure in recent weeks to replace Stockman as second in command with Austin but may now step aside completely. Irvine now hasn't a friend in he world. His demise has been a long time coming but was inevitable the moment his MI5 handlers dropped him in 2022, sources believe. That came in the wake of a hoax bomb attack carried out by his UVF B Company and was aimed at then Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney who was attending a cross community peace building event in north Belfast hosted by the John Hume Foundation. Not only did his security service masters not know about it neither did Graham who insisted it had not been sanctioned. Irvine initially tried to dodge the blame claiming it had nothing to do with him and in a meeting with Irish government representative tried to pass the buck to East Belfast UVF and Mid-Ulster UVF. East Belfast at the time was at loggerheads with the Shankill leadership. Stockman went behind Graham's back telling senior figures that he had lost control of rogue elements within the organisation. Betraying Graham was a fatal mistake but even as the net was closing in Stockman tried fiercely for his friend even as details of Irvine's connections with intelligence services and the PSNI emerged during his court appearance and conviction for gun running. Anger remains over the sentence handed down to his co-accused Robin Workman who was ordered to transport a cache of weapons to Irvine. The guns were found in the boot of Irvine's car after the pair were intercepted in June 2022. Workman got five years while Irvine got 30 months and will likely to be out within a year. There is also suspicion around the delay in sentencing the pair and that Irvine's light sentence was influenced by the intelligence services. Last week we revealed that Graham had ordered Irvine was to be left alone to serve his sentence. But without the cover of UVF membership he is vulnerable, particularly as he is sharing a wing with the five people convicted of the murder of Ian Ogle, none of whom have any allegiance to the UVF. Others include Gary Taylor and Nigel Brown serving life for the 2005 murder of schoolboy Thomas Devlin in 2005 both of whom have been stood down and have come under threat from the UVF behind bars. Another is Stephen Brown doing 30 years for the double murders of teenagers Andrew Robb and David McIlwaine in Tandragee in 2000. Attention will now turn to Stockman, a divisive figure. A former shop steward in Shorts he rose to the top of the UVF following the Good Friday Agreement. He was lucky to survive when UVF man Dee Madine stabbed him 10 times in 2011. UVF sources have told the Sunday World a battalion meeting will take place shortly when Stockman's fate will be sealed. Harry Stockman News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday June 10
Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
'Biggest week of all' for Casement Park as funding announcement imminent
GAA president Jarlath Burns has said this is the 'biggest week of all' for the Casement Park project as he awaits news of British Government funding for the project. The home of Antrim GAA has been shut since 2013 amid numerous hold-ups around planning and funding, with the opportunity to host games in Euro 2028 having now passed. The Stormont Executive has pledged £62.5m (€74m) towards the project, while the Irish Government will stump up £43m (€51m) to go along with the GAA's £15m (€18m) - but that is a long way short of the total required to complete the development with costs having spiralled and British Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce what contribution her government is prepared to make towards the shortfall. "This is a big week for it,' said Burns. 'This is the biggest week of all. We keep saying the next few weeks are crucial, but I think tomorrow we're going to hear the spending review. 'As it stands now, I don't know what decision has been made by the British Government as to what they are going to give. And I hope it's generous because it's something that we would really like to see moving on.' There will likely be pressure applied for the GAA to up its contribution but Burns said: "Well, not if the British Government decide that they are going to fund it all. That would be a great situation for us. 'So we don't know what they are going to give. We don't know then what inflationary uplift the Northern Ireland Executive is going to give. That would be between the two government parties. 'But we will then just take it from there. We will then have our own decisions to make, yes. But we are very committed to getting this stadium. 'Clones is wonderful. It's a fantastic stadium, a very quaint stadium. But we all know that for this modern era, we need to have a modern stadium where people can go and they can watch the games in comfort and enjoy it. 'If you look at the Ulster final, for example, you had Armagh, Donegal in the ladies' game, I think it was at 1 o'clock. And our game was maybe at 5 o'clock. "It's a long, long sit for people when you don't have the capacity for food and water runs out and the toileting situation, all of that. So we really just want to modernise and Casement Park is our best opportunity for that.'
