Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 September 2021
41. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his recent attendance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46871/21]
View answerI travelled to New York from 20 to 24 September for a series of meetings in relation to the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High Level Week, which began on 21 September. Although heavily curtailed due to COVID restrictions, this year saw a limited number of in-person elements which provided Ireland with an opportunity to highlight our priorities for the United Nations and the multilateral system more broadly.
The formal theme of this year’s General Assembly was “Building resilience through hope – to recover from COVID19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalise the United Nations”. Two issues which featured strongly in the General Debate were efforts to address climate change urgently, and the ongoing impact of COVID-19, in particular the inequitable distribution of vaccines. The Taoiseach delivered Ireland’s national statement during the General Debate on 24 September and also chaired the first ever debate at the Security Council on Climate and Security at the level of Heads of State and Government.
In addition to attending the opening of the General Debate, I had an extensive programme of bilateral meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Algeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, Kuwait, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the President and Foreign Minister of Kosovo, as well as with the US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, and a number of senior UN officials on humanitarian and peacebuilding issues.
I also participated in an informal EU Foreign Minister’s meeting, which focused on the EU response to the situation in Afghanistan.
UNGA High Level Week coincided with Ireland’s term as President of the UN Security Council, and in this context, I also chaired an Interactive Informal Dialogue between Security Council members and the League of Arab States during my visit.
Ireland was also represented at a number of virtual events during High Level Week, including by President Higgins, as well as Minister Ryan, Minister of State Brophy, and Minister of State Noonan, while Minister of State Byrne travelled to New York to chair a Security Council meeting on Monday 27 September to mark the 25th anniversary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, another of the key events of our presidency of the Security Council.
