43. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide a report from the UN General Assembly. [69081/26]

61. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for a report on her attendance at the United Nations High-Level Week. [68947/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 43 and 61 together.

I attended the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly last week in New York. Ireland's delegation was led by an Taoiseach and also included my colleague, Neale Richmond, TD, Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora. High-Level Week provides an important opportunity to advance Ireland's foreign policy priorities through participation in high-level events and engagement with a wide range of interlocutors.

This year, reflecting many of our EU Presidency priorities, our focus was on support for multilateralism and the international legal order, addressing the conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Sudan, Ireland's long-standing commitment to human rights and accountability, including in the context of our candidacy for the Human Rights Council for the 2027-2029 term, and on highlighting Ireland's support for the Sustainable Development Goals and humanitarian action.

To begin the week, I co-hosted an event with Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafza on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan five years after the Taliban takeover. This event called on the international community to take action to end the systematic exclusion of women and girls from public life and to address the profound human rights and humanitarian crises in Afghanistan. We were joined by Afghan women civil society leaders and by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk. The Taoiseach also highlighted the unacceptable situation in Afghanistan in Ireland's National Statement to the General Assembly, which he delivered on Thursday, 24 September. Throughout the week, the delegation had a strong focus on the global push back on gender and women's rights in engagements.

High-Level Week also provided opportunities to demonstrate Ireland's steadfast support for Ukraine. I participated in a high-level meeting on the forced transfer of Ukrainian children by Russia and joined other Foreign Ministers at an event highlighting the global impact of Russia's illegal war of aggression, including disruption of supply chains, higher prices and increased food insecurity.

At the meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, I underlined Ireland’s commitment to working with partners to end the conflict and achieve a lasting peace based on the two-State solution. The Taoiseach represented Ireland at an event co-hosted by Canada, France, and the UK marking the one-year anniversary of the New York Declaration and launched a Save the Children High-Level Dialogue on Palestinian Children in Military Detention with Queen Rania of Jordan. The war in the Gulf was also a key issue for discussion throughout the week, including the implications for global shipping security arising from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and instability in the Bab al Mandab.

Reflecting our EU Presidency priorities, I also spoke at an event on strengthening cooperation for a secure and stable maritime domain. I reaffirmed Ireland’s commitment to maritime security, the protection of critical undersea infrastructure, safeguarding freedom of navigation and upholding international law.

I attended the annual meeting of the Informal Ministerial Network for the International Criminal Court to demonstrate Ireland’s solidarity with the ICC and the need to safeguard the integrity of the Court. Reaffirming Ireland's commitment to international humanitarian law and protection for aid workers and other civilians, I also co-sponsored a High-Level event on International Humanitarian Law and Humanitarian Action.

Minister of State Richmond's programme provided a critical opportunity to advance Ireland’s priorities on education, food security, humanitarian protection and sustainable development, and to engage with international partners on strengthening multilateral cooperation and the effectiveness of the UN development system. The Taoiseach also had a strong focus in his programme on Ireland's long-standing support to development cooperation and humanitarian action, including speaking at a High-Level event with UNICEF on children’s nutrition.

Throughout the week, I also held a series of bilateral meetings with counterparts, as did the Taoiseach and Minister of State Richmond.

During the visit, I also took the opportunity to meet with Irish companies investing and creating jobs in the United States and with key US investors in Ireland. I met with members of the Irish community in New York and visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York to mark the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The Taoiseach met with New York Governor, Kathy Hochul, and with New York Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, and visited the New York Irish Centre in Long Island City. He also met with members of the Strategic Economic Advisory Panel.