Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 24 Oct 1995

Vol. 457 No. 4

Adjournment Debate. - UN 50th Anniversary.

Mr. R. Burke

It is appropriate, on this historic day, to acknowledge the contribution of the UN in its first 50 years of existence and the 40th anniversary of Ireland's entry to membership of that organisation. Ireland, since its entry, has become one of the United Nations most respected and active participants. Ireland's commitment has not merely been to the General Assembly in New York or Geneva. It includes a considerable contribution to the UN peace-keeping and humanitarian missions ranging from the Congo in the 1960s to the present day monitoring contingent in former Yugoslavia.

Over the years Irish people have given uselfishly to many United Nations operations through the Army and, recently, the Garda Síochána, at times at the cost of human life. In the process considerable experience has been amassed in the area of peace-keeping in which our expertise and contribution has earned international recognition. In so doing we have acquired first-hand experience of the difficulties which may be encountered while attempting to give effect to a UN mandate and the administrative inadequacies that may occur. Our contribution was also significant in sponsoring the non-proliferation treaty and the vote for China's admission to the UN. Both these achievements were very important milestones in the career of Frank Aiken who, with no disrespect to any other present or former Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, is recognised as the man who introduced the United Nations to the role of foreign affairs.

The Fianna Fáil Party firmly believes that, in its 50th year, a radical examination and overhaul of its workings and effectiveness is long overdue. National self-interest on the part of some member states has, for too long, been over influential in the UN decision-making process. A perception exists, perhaps an unfair one in many instances, that, as an organisation, the United Nations is ineffective, wasteful and bureaucratic. Now that the Cold War has ended the UN has been given new freedom but this brings an enormous range of new responsibilities.

Already this year we have seen numerous reports, papers, documentaries and international fora deliberating on the need for reform within the United Nations. While there may seem to be a general consensus in these reports as to the analysis of the problems, there has been too little obvious agreement on solutions. It is now a near cliché that the UN is no more than the sum of the political will of its constituent members and its failures are those of its members. A recent article in The Economist stated that the United Nations is both the alibi and the scapegoat. It is deferred to in support of national self-interest but is derided and left to carry the burden when things go wrong. The end of the Cold War may have eased the passage of resolutions but not their implementation. What is required is a reduction in the number of resolutions and mandates to those which are achievable.

"Bankrupt" might be an emotive word but it has to be used in the context of the United Nations. Member states owe over £1 billion on the main account and a further £1.7 billion is overdue in contributions to peace-keeping. Recent missions in Rwanda, Somalia and former Yugoslavia have attracted much popular criticism. It is sad to hear of Ireland's forces wearing UN blue berets or T-shirts being ridiculed by Bosnian Muslims angered at the perceived inaction of the international community.

A general streamlining and restructuring of the UN's administration is needed to ensure that it can more effectively provide protection, justice and development assistance to those who most depend on it. The nature of threats to security and the cause of conflicts have become increasingly complex with the end of the Cold War. The UN now requires a more flexible range of peace-keeping, crisis-management, mediation and early-warning tools. The UN tends to be dominated by Western concerns and self interest. The debt crisis and the AIDS epidemic currently threaten the security of African nations to an equal, if not greater, degree than threats to Middle Eastern oil supplies which threaten Western economies. However, when will we see co-ordinated action in this regard on the same scale as that of the Gulf War?

There is a genuine recognition of the contribution of Ireland, and other peace-keeping or neutral states, to the UN's positive development. Ireland is expected and needed to play a leading role in the debate on UN reform. It is essential that we are to the forefront with constructive proposals on its structure and mandate. There can be no greater commemoration of this 50th anniversary within the UN than that Ireland should play a leading, vocal and constructively imaginative role in the process of reform. I hope that the Government will take the lead in that area and that the world will be a safer place for the next 50 years under the protection of a reinvigorated United Nations.

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Spring)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and the very positive terms in which it has been framed. I am very glad to acknowledge that the policy of successive Governments of support for the United Nations has enjoyed the whole-hearted endorsement of all parties in this House from the time of former Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave and former Minister for Foreign Affairs, Frank Aiken, to the present day. Within the United Nations, Ireland's stance as a strong advocate of the organisation, both in political terms and in practical terms as a major contributor to UN peace-keeping, has gained us the respect and good will of fellow member states.

This is a very significant and solemn anniversary. It was precisely on this day 50 years ago that the United Nations General Assembly opened its first session with only 51 members. Last weekend the representatives of 185 member states, most of them at Heads of State or Government level, assembled in New York to commemorate the 50th anniversary. It was the largest such gathering in world history. Throughout their statements ran the theme that the UN has an indispensable, central role to play in dealing with present-day international crises. It was also heartening to hear many of those present say that they were rendering homage to an organisation which not only acted as midwife at the very birth of their nation, but also offered protection and comfort during its early years. In a very real sense the international community, as well as shaping the United Nations, has been formed by it.

For most of the past 50 years the UN had to live within the constraints imposed by the Cold War. Even so, it had many solid achievements during this period. Since today is a day for commemoration, let us recall the valuable contribution of the UN over the past half century: its role in containing the risks of nuclear confrontation between the major powers; the invaluable framework which it provided for the negotiation of arms control and disarmament agreements; its role in the prevention of conflict through active diplomacy; the contribution of UN peace-keeping, in which Ireland has played a proud role, in preventing the escalation of tension and conflict; the development of universal standards in human rights; the leading role its specialised agencies have played in combating poverty and improving the lives of countless millions of the world's most vulnerable citizens through programmes to advance literacy, to assist and protect refugees and to assure the mass immunisation of children. However, much of the record of the UN falls short of the high ideals of the Charter. These achievements represent a substantial success for an organisation that arose from the ashes of global war and which replaced the less ambitious and ultimately unsuccessful experiment of the League of Nations.

Following the end of the Cold War, the UN engaged in a dramatic, and largely successful, intensification of multilateral efforts to resolve the long-standing conflicts that were left over from the Cold War in countries such as Cambodia, El Salvador, Angola and Mozambique. However, what concerns the international community most urgently at present is the inability of the UN to prevent and contain recent inter-necine intra-state conflicts, such as those which have occurred in Somalia, former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The UN was created out of a determination that the world should never have to face again the horrors of war. Yet, as we are tragically aware, the UN has not been able to prevent the old nightmares of war, genocide and destruction revisiting us.

The 50th anniversary of the UN will have served its purpose well if, in the light of these recent tragedies, it causes us to concentrate our attention on the future renewal of the organisation and allows us properly to comprehend why it has not proved effective in dealing with these crises. Inspired by this anniversary year, we have to look urgently at ways of transforming the UN so that it has the capacity to respond to the challenges which are now occurring and which will undoubtedly recur in future. We must also provide the UN with the financial resources necessary to carry out effectively the tasks which we the member states assign to it. Not least we have to reform the UN so that respect for its authority within the international community is properly restored.

Since the beginning of last year the UN General Assembly has been examining the question of the enlargement of the Security Council and other related reforms. Progress has been slow, but we have now reached a stage where we have to begin to clarify the elements of a balanced solution. Ireland's approach is based on support for an enlarged Council which is more representative of the general membership and reflects changing international political and economic realities. We are also concerned to improve the representation of developing countries and to retain the opportunity for smaller states, such as Ireland, to serve periodically on the Council. Such reforms should improve the Council's representative character, its transparency and its effectiveness.

Much has been said and written in recent days about the financial crisis facing the UN. The challenge which it poses cannot be avoided if the UN is to survive. I repeat, as so many others have done, that the most pressing requirement is for all member states to pay their assessed contributions to the UN in full, on time and without conditions. Without money the UN, and its peace-keeping operations, will come apart.

The number, scale and complexity of UN peace-keeping operations have grown enormously in recent years. Shortcomings have been exposed. As events in Somalia showed it is vital that in devising mission mandates the distinction between peacekeeping and peace-enforcement is maintained. The most urgent need is to improve the response capability of the UN at the beginning of a crisis. Above all early deployment could prevent an escalation of conflict and it is necessary to look at proposals for a rapid reaction capability.

Just as early deployment of peace-keepers may prevent escalation of a crisis so early preventive diplomacy may defuse tension before it erupts into violence. The UN needs to develop such a capacity for preventive diplomacy through early warning and mediation.

On the occasion of this special Adjournment debate I am very glad to assure the Deputy that the Government is fully committed to fulfilling its obligations under the Charter and to ensuring the success of the UN as a central and indispensable component of the new global order which we are seeking to build for the 21st century. As a dedicated UN member state we will actively participate in the ongoing reform process and we will endavour to ensure that the organisation is properly equipped with the means necessary to uphold the rule of law in international life, to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms and to lay the basis for a more peaceful and prosperous future for all of the world's population.