Written Answers. - UN Security Council.
Ruairí Quinn
Question:
30
Mr. Quinn
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
the discussions, if any, he has had since October 1998 in relation to Ireland's candidacy for a non-permanent position on the UN Security Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[26527/98]
Liz McManus
Question:
51
Ms McManus
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
the response, if any, Ireland has received for its objective of winning a seat on the Security Council of the United Nations; the plans, if any, the Government has to promote reforms of the United Nations, particularly in regard to the composition of the Security Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[27549/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 30 and 51 together.
Ireland is seeking election to one of the two non-permanent seats on the Security Council which are designated for the "Western Europe and Others" group. The election will take place in September-October 2000. Successful candidates will require the support of two-thirds of the voting membership of the United Nations.
Elections to the Security Council have become increasingly competitive in recent years. Ireland will be competing against Norway and Turkey for one of the two seats available in 2000. The pace of our campaign has increased in recent months. As Minister for Foreign Affairs, I have used all appropriate contacts with colleagues from other countries to seek support. While it would not be appropriate to disclose commitments made by other Governments, I can confirm that our candidature has received a very positive response.
I will continue to use every opportunity to advance Ireland's candidacy both in contacts with other administrations in multilateral fora and in the course of bilateral visits abroad as Minister for Foreign Affairs.
As regards UN reform, in line with the commitment in An Action Programme for the Millennium, Ireland has actively supported efforts to modernise and reform the United Nations system so that it can be more effective in responding to the complex and difficult challenges in the coming millennium. Our priority is to secure agreement on the measures necessary to revitalise the organisation and to ensure more vigorous action in fulfilling its mandate under the UN Charter of maintaining international peace and security and promoting the economic and social development of all member states. With our EU partners, we have given strong support to measures aimed at securing a better co-ordinated and more streamlined UN, which makes more effective use of personnel and financial resources, and at improving the setting of priorities for action by the UN.
Ireland supports a reform of the composition of the Security Council which would make it more representative of the general membership of the UN. We favour a balanced increase in the size of the council from the present 15 to between 20 and 25 members. In this context, Ireland supports a small increase in the permanent membership, United States, China, Russia, France and the UK, selected on the basis of global influence and contribution to the work of the UN as well as considerations of equitable geographical distribution. We also favour an increase in the non-permanent membership with these new seats being allocated to the various regional groups. In addition to the enlargement issue, Ireland favours improved and more transparent working methods of the council involving more frequent consultation between it and the General Assembly, the Secretary-General and other major organs of the UN system. We also see a need for more restrictive use of the veto power of the permanent members of the Security Council and we believe that the veto power should not be extended to new permanent members.
Ireland has taken an active role in the discussions in New York on Security Council reform. As a member of an informal group of ten small and medium-sized States, Ireland has played a significant bridge-building role in the debate.
