Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 23 May 1995

Vol. 453 No. 3

Written Answers. - UN Activities.

Dan Wallace

Ceist:

45 Mr. D. Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the steps, if any, the Government is taking to ensure that Ireland will have a significant input to the process of refocusing and restructuring the activities of the United Nations in view of growing regional tensions throughout the world and the seeming inability of the United Nations to intervene decisively. [8109/95]

Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Spring)

There is a keen awareness among the international community of the importance of reform in the United Nations if it is to succeed in achieving its fundamental Charter objectives — to maintain international peace and security, to protect human rights, to uphold international law and to promote socio-economic development. This is particularly true given the new challenges of the post-Cold War world and the growing regional tensions to which the Deputy refers.

The UN's fiftieth anniversary which we are celebrating this year has added impetus to the reform debate. However, any substantial reform of UN structures will require widespread support from member states, of whom there are now 185. It is therefore inevitable that securing agreement on reform across a broad range of issues will take some time.

The Government is contributing very actively in co-operation with our European Union partners to the current reform debate in the General Assembly and its Working Groups. I propose to set out briefly recent initiatives which the Government has undertaken on a number of the most important issues relating to United Nations reform.

Reform of the Security Council is crucial in ensuring the effectiveness of the United Nations. Ireland is an active participant in the General Assembly Working Group examining this issue, and we are also co-operating on the issue with like-minded smaller member states. We support a balanced enlargement of the Council which would include a modest expansion in its membership. Such an enlargement should improve the Council's representative character, transparency and effectiveness. We are also concerned to address the current under-representation of developing countries and to retain the opportunity for smaller states to serve on the Council periodically.

In the field of preventive diplomacy, I have called for the creation of a UN Mediation Body to which the Security Council or the General Assembly could refer difficult issues. If properly resourced I believe that this body could act very effectively to resolve disputes before they lead to serious conflict. Ireland has also been prominent in supporting the creation of a permanent International Criminal Court to deal with serious violations of international humanitarian law. We have in addition called for the expansion of human rights monitoring activities.

Ireland is also participating in the General Assembly Working Group established last December to examine the UN's difficult financial situation, a situation which clearly poses a fundamental threat to the Organisation's activities. The Taoiseach and I have raised the issue of the proposed unilateral reduction in US contributions to UN Peacekeeping in the course of recent meetings with President Clinton and Secretary of State Christopher. Ireland is also co-operating closely in this area with our European partners; it is worth noting in this context that the member states of the European Union contribute 34.4 per cent of the UN's Regular Budget and 36.8 per cent of Peacekeeping costs.

Ireland is continuing to contribute to discussions on the Secretary-General's Agenda for Peace and his Agenda for Development. We have suggested an increased role for the Economic and Social Council in reporting to the Security Council on socio-economic conditions which could pose a threat to international peace and security.

As a member state which contributes a significant number of Military and Garda personnel to UN Peacekeeping Operations, Ireland welcomed the introduction last November of improved mechanisms for consultation between the Security Council and Troop-Contributing States. I believe that further improvements are possible in this area and we will continue to work with other Troop Contributors to this end.

Our EU Presidency in the second half of 1996 will coincide with the Fifty-first Session of the General Assembly. This will allow Ireland to play a central role in the reform debate, and my Department is preparing for this challenge at present. The forthcoming White Paper on Foreign Policy will contain a comprehensive statement of our policy on the United Nations and on Peacekeeping.