Human Rights
Dail Éireann — 2022-03-24
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John Brady (SF), Wicklow

It is not a matter of using language for the sake of using language. Words have meaning and meaning must lead to action. The reports that have been published are also echoed by a recent report from the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Palestinians in the occupied territories, Michael Lynk. To use his language, "Israel has imposed on Palestine an apartheid reality in a post-apartheid world." He goes on to say that "this system of alien rule has been established with the intent to maintain the domination of one racial-national-ethnic group over another", which is apartheid. International law is not an à la carte menu to pick and choose from. We have to stand up for international law no matter where in the world. We must call out breaches of that law and hold the perpetrators to account. Language is everything. Will the Minister use the word "apartheid" to describe the actions of Israel?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2022-03-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:50:17+00:00
Sitting date: 2022-03-24