Written Answers. - United Nations Reform.
Michael D. Higgins
Ceist:
59
Mr. M. Higgins
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
the proposals the Government has made or intends to make towards reforming and strengthening the United Nations and its institutions, including the reform of the Security Council on a more democratic and representative basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[29261/01]
In line with the commitment in An Action Programme for the Millennium, the Government strongly supports reform of the United Nations and I took every opportunity to reiterate this during my recent visits to the UN. In particular, we fully support the UN Secretary General in his efforts to ensure the UN's continued capacity to contribute effectively to conflict prevention and to social and economic development. Ireland and its EU partners are actively engaged in the reform agenda and have sought to stress that the reform process is not simply a cost cutting exercise, but one which is aimed at strengthening and renewing the UN system.
The Millennium Summit, which took place in September 2000, provided fresh impetus to the reform process. The Government is acutely conscious of the need to strengthen the United Nations in order to fulfil the commitment made in the Summit Declaration to ensure a more effective instrument for pursuing the fight for peace and development and against poverty, ignorance and disease.
The financial problems which the UN faced over the past decade caused difficulties in advancing UN reform and the Government has consistently called on all member states to work to resolve this situation by paying their contributions and arrears. There have been recent significant developments in relation to financing which should add impetus to the reform process. The United States, the largest single contributor to the UN budget, has moved to pay a substantial portion of its arrears to the organisation. It is expected that US payments for the last quarter of 2001 will total $1.459 billion and this should ease considerably the pressure on the UN's finances.
One of the most difficult issues facing the UN membership generally is the question of Security Council reform. The General Assembly decided in 1993 to establish a working group, open to all UN member states, to consider all aspects of the question of an increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Council. The working group has been meeting regularly in New York since 1993, with Ireland as an active participant, but progress has been disappointing. The issues involved are enlargement of Security Council membership, the Council's working methods and its decision-making procedures, including, crucially, the use of the veto. Ireland supports a small, regionally balanced increase in both permanent and non-permanent seats to create an enlarged Council of between 20 and 25 members. We strongly believe that any agreement on enlargement should not diminish the possibility for smaller UN member states to serve on the Council as non-permanent members. A significant number of other member states opposes the creation of new permanent seats on the Council and this has created difficulties for the working group. Ireland will continue to play an active and constructive role in seeking agreement on this issue.
On Security Council working methods, there appears to be fairly wide consensus that these should be more formalised and transparent, involving greater consultation by the Council with other UN organs, including the General Assembly and Secretary General, and, in peacekeeping matters, with troop contributing countries. As a member of the Security Council, Ireland has taken an open and transparent approach to the work of the Council, consulting widely with interested countries outside the Security Council, including in the area of peacekeeping. I am pleased that we have been able to live up to our campaign pledge to adopt a consultative approach to our membership of the Council.
Ireland would like to see the veto eliminated altogether but, recognising the strong opposition of the permanent members, has proposed that they be invited to accept a limitation of the veto and to exercise it only when they consider the question of vital national importance, taking into account the interests of the United Nations as a whole. At the same time any new permanent members of the Council would declare that they would never exercise the veto.
One positive development at the Security Council which is of particular resonance for Ireland is the progress that has been made this year in strengthening co-operation between the Security Council and countries contributing troops to UN peacekeeping operations. As a permanent troop contributor, we welcome the increased recognition of the vital input which countries contributing troops make to SECCO decision-making. During our October Presidency of the Council, Ireland chaired three such meetings with countries contributing troops to UN missions on the Iraq-Kuwait border, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and East Timor.
Major reforms are under way in UN peacekeeping. The report of the Panel on UN Peace Operations, the Brahimi Report, recommended wide-ranging institutional, operational, staffing and funding changes to UN peacekeeping operations and important progress has been made in implementing its recommendations. The allocation of adequate resources for operations and for the secretariat is a key issue which is currently under negotiation in the budgetary committee of the General Assembly and Ireland is participating actively in these discussions. Progress has also been made on administrative reform in the development area. A UN development group has been established which brings together the heads of all of the development agencies for discussions on co-ordination and coherence. A UN Development Assistance Framework, UNDAF, is in place under which UN agencies in the field are based in a common UN house and are co-ordinated by the resident representative of the UNDP. Co-ordination of the UN's emergency humanitarian operations has been centralised in the new office of the Co-ordinator for Humanitarian Assistance, OCHA.
Far reaching reforms have also been implemented in many of the UN's funds and programmes. The UN Development Programme, UNDP, has introduced major management restructuring and is streamlining its operations, decentralising and focusing its work programme. Similarly the UN Children's' Fund, UNICEF, the Population Fund, UNFPA, and the World Health Organisation, WHO, have also implemented reform programmes. All these agencies are now receiving increased donor support, including from Ireland, and are working to strengthen their links with the private sector and private philanthropic foundations. Ireland has sharply increased its funding to UNDP, £4.85 million in 2001, and UNICEF, £3 million in 2001, and entered into indicative multi-annual funding commitments with these bodies. Ireland will become a member of the executive board of UNICEF for the first time for a two year period on 1 January 2002. We will use our board membership to support continuing reform, particularly the need for improved co-ordination with other UN bodies.
It is apparent that significant progress has been made in the UN reform process but that more work remains to be done. I assure the House that Ireland will continue to actively engage in all aspects of the reform agenda.
Question No. 60 answered with Question No. 11.
Question No. 61 answered with Question No. 23.
