Vol. 542 No. 2
103 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the measures the Government intends to take while it holds membership of the Security Council of the United Nations on the issue of arms production and proliferation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23745/01]
Ireland is an energetic advocate of disarmament and non-proliferation and considers the pursuit of these issues within the United Nations and in other fora to be a key element of our contribution towards international security.
Within the United Nations system the Security Council does not have immediate responsibility for the issues of arms production, proliferation and disarmament. The UN Charter vests in the General Assembly the prime responsibility for consideration of the "general principles of co-operation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including the principles governing disarmament and the regulation of armaments".
Much of the practical work of devising general principles takes place in the UN Disarmament and International Security Committee, commonly known as the First Committee, of which Ireland is a member. The First Committee meets during the UN General Assembly session to deal with the disarmament issues on the agenda of that session, and its consultations shape the tone of the disarmament debate. Ireland is an active participant in this committee and will this year, as always, use all useful opportunities to ensure the pursuit of disarmament and non-proliferation stays at the fore of the committee's deliberations and output.
With regard to nuclear weapons, Ireland is a member of the New Agenda Coalition which has been highly instrumental in achieving a detailed and agreed outcome to the 2000 Review Conference of the Non-proliferation Treaty. The outcome there provides a blueprint for a step by step approach to negotiations leading to the elimination of nuclear arsenals.
Since August 1999, Ireland has also become a member of the Conference on Disarmament which has in the past proved productive in negotiating multilateral disarmament agreements. The conference negotiated most recently the 1996 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty which seeks to prevent the further testing of nuclear weapons.
The UN Conference on the Illicit Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects took place in New York in July of this year and agreed an international action plan to combat this illegal trafficking. The Irish delegation was fully engaged in the preparatory work and the successful conclusion of the plan of action at this conference. We are committed to the implementation of this plan of action which has a special relevance to the African continent.
The UN Conference on the Illicit Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects took place in New York in July of this year and agreed an international action plan to combat this illicit trafficking. The Irish delegation was fully engaged in the preparatory work and the successful conclusion of the plan of action at this conference. We are committed to the implementation of this plan of action which has a special relevance to the African continent.
In that context, in the case of Angola, Ireland, as a member of the UN Security Council, is playing a very active role through its chairmanship of the United Nations Sanctions Committee Against UNITA (Angola). The sanctions, which include a ban on armaments, have an important role to play in bringing the tragic conflict in Angola to an end.
Additional InformationAs can be gathered from what I have said, the United Nations deals with the issues of arms production and proliferation in a broad multilateral context, which is distinct from Ireland's participation in, and chairing of, the Security Council. Nonetheless, Ireland will continue to use its voice and influence where it can be useful in making progress on the vital issues of arms production and proliferation.
In all our efforts on these important issues, we remain conscious of the commitment made by the leaders of all UN member states on the occasion of the Millennium Summit in New York last September. The Declaration which they made, inter alia, addressed the interrelated issues of development, peace, security and disarmament, and specifically the need to implement treaties in arms control and disarmament, to strive for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, and to end illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons.
In compliance with these undertakings, the UN Secretary General is preparing a progress report on implementation for consideration at the next regular session of the General Assembly. For our part, Ireland will continue to use multilateral avenues to curb arms production and to end the proliferation of all categories of weapon.
This is a rather sad and depressing reply, but I will ask a question about it. Listening to it, one can understand why in 1995 about $868 billion was spent on arms production and $15 billion on the four preventable diseases in the world that have cost 150 million lives since the UN was founded. However, I asked what initiative the Government might take while it was on the Security Council. Obviously the answer is that it intends to go to all the committees it went to before. It has reported how active it will be on the Angola sanctions committee for the people who buy arms. My question also mentions small arms, which include portable rocket launchers. That negotiation has collapsed. The Minister might tell us about that but not waste too much time on it. The United States does not intend signing the convention on it. In terms of the obscenity of expenditure on arms production outpacing that on preventable diseases by somewhere between 65:1 and 70:1, would it not be a reasonable expectation that the Minister would prepare an initiative? He should move it to the General Assembly through the committee, as he correctly said. What the Minister has told us is that he goes to the committee meetings, and he has told us what goes on, but there is nothing by way of an initiative.
I have explained why that is the case. It would be wrong to suggest that Ireland is not active in this area.
I know we are active. We are doing all sorts of things.
I hold no brief for the international armaments industry. Nor has any other Irish Government done.
I know that. That is why I was expecting an initiative from the Minister.
Please allow the Minister to continue without interruption.
I am sorry to disappoint the Deputy.
What is the Government's attitude to the production of arms or arms-related equipment here and the export thereof abroad? Are we engaged in the production of primary or secondary equipment which is used in the arms trade? What is the Minister's reaction to any such activity?
I wish the Minister God's speed in his role as chair of the Security Council. Given that the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings killed 210,000 people, will the Minister take the opportunity afforded by his role on the Security Council to highlight the bomb-making possibilities and explosive nature of the Sellafield plant across the Irish Sea? Will he take account of the views of Dr. Gordon Thompson, who met Members of Dáil Éireann on a number of occasions, that a world forum such as the United Nations Security Council would be an ideal forum in which to put in place what he called a grand contract to change the nuclear industry from a potential bomb-making and waste-making industry to a clean-up industry, using the expertise in the nuclear industry for clean-ups as is being done in Eastern Europe and other nuclear-contaminated areas? Sellafield contains many such experts. Will the Minister use the opportunity afforded by his chairmanship of the Security Council to such good effect?
Ireland has a good record in bringing forward initiatives such as the New Agenda Coalition in relation to nuclear weapons. The use of nuclear technology for the production of energy and the safeguards required to make the nuclear industry safe, if that is even possible at this stage, is a matter to be worked on within the EU and within our relations with African countries. I will take up the Deputy's question as to the UN component of that activity.
Could I have an answer to my question?
Regarding Deputy O'Keeffe's question, the supplementary questions refer to UN initiatives. It is important to point out that there has been no change of policy on our part in relation to those issues during my tenure. I will get details for the Deputy.
What is the policy?
Can the Minister confirm whether anybody is making parts of weapons here?
I understand there are some restless people on the Fine Gael National Executive but I do not think they are involved in making any weapons.
