At its establishment in 1945, the UN Security Council was given primary responsibility in the UN Charter for maintaining international peace and security. UN Peacekeeping Operations are deployed with the assent of the Council. Under Article 25 of the UN Charter, all UN members agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council. While other organs of the UN may make recommendations to Member States, the Council alone has the power to take decisions which Member States are obligated to implement.
The adoption of a UN Security Resolution mandating a UN Peacekeeping Operation requires the affirmative vote of nine of the 15 Security Council members. However, due to the veto power of the five permanent members of the Security Council (China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America), each of them must also either vote in favour of the resolution or abstain. A UN Peacekeeping Operation resolution cannot be adopted if one or more of the Permanent Five vote against it.
In short, the UN General Assembly cannot approve a peacekeeping operation. In certain instances, where a matter has been considered by the Security Council and has been the subject of a veto, the General Assembly may consider the matter and make a recommendation to UN Members for collective action (under the Uniting for Peace Resolution). However, these recommendations are not legally binding and the General Assembly cannot compel action. That power is reserved to the Security Council.
Only once has the UN General Assembly invoked the Uniting for Peace Resolution and recommended a peacekeeping operation, establishing the first UN Emergency Force in 1956 in the Middle East. UNEF was not a peace-enforcement operation, as envisaged in Article 42 of the United Nations Charter, but a peacekeeping operation to be carried out with the consent and the cooperation of the parties to the conflict.
Ireland has consistently called for the power of the veto held by the Permanent Five members of the Security Council to be abolished. This includes our active engagement in the Intergovernmental Negotiation process to reform the Council, where we have consistently made the case for abolition of the veto.
On the matter of the so-called Triple Lock mechanism, this sets out the conditions for the deployment of Irish Defence Forces' personnel for peacekeeping operations overseas. These include that the operation must be mandated by the UN, approved by the Government and it must be approved by way of resolution of Dáil Éireann, where the size of the Defence Force contribution is more than 12 personnel.
Last year’s Consultative Forum on International Security Policy featured a well-informed discussion on the issue of UN peacekeeping and the Triple Lock, which was reflected in the Chair’s report. As I have set out in the Dáil, we clearly need a new process to replace the current system which effectively allows UN Security Council members to bind Ireland’s hands in its international engagement. Arising from this, I have instructed officials in the Department of Defence to prepare legislative proposals without delay that would govern future overseas deployments of our Defence Forces. Work on the preparation of those legislative proposals is advancing, with a view to proposals being brought to Government very shortly. It is important that I emphasise, however, that any legislative proposals will remain fully consistent with the principles of the UN Charter and international law.
As the Deputy will be aware, the General Scheme of any Bill will be brought for pre-legislative scrutiny consideration by the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence to determine if pre-legislative scrutiny is required. Any proposals agreed by Government will then have to be presented to, debated and approved by the Dáil and Seanad, thus providing the Oireachtas with ample opportunity to scrutinise any such proposals.
Any modification to the Triple Lock will continue to require Government and Dáil approval, where appropriate, for the dispatch of Defence Forces’ personnel to take part in peacekeeping and similar missions and will do nothing to change Ireland’s traditional position of military neutrality, which is characterised by Ireland's non-participation in any military alliance.
