Written Answers. - UN Initiatives.
Dan Wallace
Question:
72
Mr. D. Wallace
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs
the main initiatives which the Irish representatives have taken at the United Nations over the past 12 months; the impact such initiatives have made; and the main obstacles impeding progress in each instance.
[3878/97]
Dan Wallace
Question:
73
Mr. D. Wallace
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs
the mechanisms which are in place by the United Nations to monitor the dynamic situation of gross human tragedy currently taking place in Rwanda and Burundi; the resources which are being allocated each month to such programmes; and the most recent reliable feedback on the precise situation in each of these countries.
[3879/97]
I propose to answer Questions Nos. 72 and 73 together.
The major initiatives which Ireland has undertaken in regard to the United Nations follow from the priorities set out for our policy towards the United Nations in the Government's White Paper on Foreign Policy. These priorities continue to focus on areas which we have traditionally attached importance to, such as disarmament, human rights and economic and social development.
In our view the United Nations continues to have a key role to play in securing agreement on further disarmament measures. Ireland, through its role as Presidency of the European Union, in concert with the other partners, was instrumental in obtaining widespread international support for the adoption in September 1996 of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. This followed extensive lobbying by Ireland and its EU partners in over 100 UN member states. This treaty is a significant further measure to promote nuclear disarmament and has to date been signed by over 140 countries.
Ireland also undertook to press strongly for support for a UN resolution urging states to pursue vigorously an effective legally-binding international instrument to ban the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel land-mines. After extensive lobbying, this resolution was adopted by the overwhelming majority of UN member states. As a complementary initiative in this area Ireland, as Presidency of the EU, promoted a resolution on assistance in mine clearance which was adopted by consensus. Through these efforts, Ireland has contributed to giving further impetus to the movement by the international community towards a ban on these particularly devastating weapons whose victims are predominantly innocent civilians.
In view of the clear need for a continuing and strong advocacy by the UN for further disarmament measures, Ireland initiated a resolution which sought to further expand the membership of the UN conference on disarmament which has a key policy role to play in the disarmament area.
Human rights has also continued to provide a focus of our policy within the United Nations. As a consequence Ireland took the initiative in 1996 of campaigning for election to the commission on human rights. This is one of the main United Nations bodies concerned with human rights and has responsibility for monitoring and reporting on human rights issues, legislation and international agreements on human rights, and the human rights issues, legislation and international agreements on human rights, and the human rights situation in specific countries. Ireland was successful in its election bid and took up its three year term of membership in 1 January 1997.
As a member of the commission on human rights, Ireland will have the opportunity to make a more direct and positive contribution in support of the important role of the United Nations in the promotion of human rights, as well as pursuing our traditional policy priorities in this area. At the 1996 session of the Commission, Ireland took the initiative of tabling, for the first time, a draft resolution on the human rights of persons with disabilities which sought to draw attention to the rights of the disabled as well as disabilities caused by violations of human rights. A further initiative was the introduction by Ireland at the same session of a resolution in the elimination of religous intolerance. Ireland worked successfully to have both resolutions adopted by consensus.
There remain many challenges and obstacles facing the United Nations in its efforts to promote and defend human rights throughout the world, not least the need to strengthen the role of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as providing additional resources within the UN system for human rights activities.
Ireland has been a consistent advocate, within the UN forum, of the vital role of the organisation in advancing the economic and social development of all nations, and particularly the lesser developed countries. In the light of the ongoing debate within the United Nations on how it can become more effective in fulfilling this role, Ireland, in co-operation with its EU partners, undertook to seek to elaborate proposals of the European Union for reform of the United Nations system in the economic and social areas. This initiative was developed during our Presidency of the EU and a set of proposals outlining the common view of the EU on reform in this sector was agreed in December 1996.
The proposals have been conveyed to the new UN Secretary-General and it is intended that they will serve to give impetus to the effort to reach agreement on necessary reforms within the current activities and programmes of the UN system. The objective of reform, for both Ireland and its EU partners, is to create a more efficient and well-targeted UN effort in the area of sustainable development, with particular emphasis in policy and programmes on having real impact on the priority needs of poorer developing countries in particular. The thrust of the proposals is not on cost-cutting but on restoring confidence, both in developed and developing countries, in the United Nations as an efficient multilateral instrument to promote real sustainable development throughout the world.
Another initiative to be noted is the declaration by Ireland, in April 1996, of its canditature for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council, in elections to be held in the year 1999 for the term 2000-2002. This candidature follows from our long held view that it is important that all states who are members of the UN, and in particular the smaller states within the organisation, should have the opportunity within a reasonable time period of serving on the Security Council, which is the main organ concerned with decision-making on issues affecting international peace and security.
As regards the activities of the United Nations in Rwanda and Burundi, I would not propose to comment on these operations in detail as this is a matter for the organisation itself. I can however inform the Deputy that in 1996 the United Nations launched a consolidated inter-agency appeal for the Great Lakes Region including Rwanda, Burundi, Eastern Zaire and parts of Tanzania. The appeal was co-ordinated by the UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs. The UN implemented this appeal through its agencies including: the High Commissioner for Refugees, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, World Health Organisation, the UN Children's Fund, Food and Agriculture Organisation, World Food Programme and the UN Development Programme. The appeal had raised over US$555 million by 4 November 1996.
In early November 1996, due to the increasingly volatile situation in the region, the United Nations launched a consolidated inter-agency flash appeal for the Great Lakes Region. This new appeal was established to cover the period 1 November 1996 to 31 January 1997. A comprehensive financial summary for this appeal is not yet available. However, more than US$145 million was contributed to the flash appeal.
The UN Department of Humanitarian Affairs are currently preparing two new appeals for the region, one of which will be for Rwanda and the other for the rest of the Great Lakes Region including Burundi.
