We have a place at the UN’s top table but the big five have all the power

THE Coronavirus crisis continues unabated across much of the globe and the debacle of Brexit trundles towards the cliff edge but Ireland is this week toasting a notable diplomatic success amidst all the international chaos. After two years of hard work and a spend generally expected to top €1 million, Ireland’s intensive international lobbying efforts have been rewarded with a seat on the UN Security Council.

For two years – in 2021 and 2022 – Ireland will take a seat at the top table of international diplomacy where it will mingle with the global powerhouses of the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom who hold the permanent seats on the council.

It will be Ireland’s third term on the Security Council and the achievement was hailed across the political spectrum when the result of the UN vote was announced last Wednesday.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney – who has proved a skilled international diplomat – said the result was proof of the high esteem in which Ireland is held across the world.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar echoed those sentiments saying that Ireland’s return to the Security Council was “a recognition of our work on the world stage over many decades”.

According to Mr Varadkar, Ireland will use our presence to advance the causes we’ve championed, including “peace and security, conflict resolution, reconciliation, climate action, sustainable development, and gender equality”.

That, of course, is all very laudable but does it have any foundation in the realities of the Security Council and how it actually goes about its business?

Ireland’s seat on the council will undoubtedly bring prestige and a degree of international influence while our diplomats will have the opportunity to gain valuable experience and foster useful global connections.

Sadly, that is about as far as it goes. While Ireland will be able to play a part in debates and have its say on many pressing international issues, it will be the five main players – each with the power to veto any resolution they oppose – who will ultimately make the decisions.

Ireland and its nine fellow temporary members may well be unanimous on how a crisis should be handled but if China, for example, was to disagree, their protestations would be rendered instantly and utterly meaningless.

Take Russia’s recent backing of Bashar al-Assad’s murderous regime in Syria. In the last three years Russia has vetoed six separate UN Security Council Resolutions aimed at curtailing the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

For a further example we can look back at Ireland’s last stint in the council in 2001 and 2002. That term would be dominated by the US response to the 9/11 terror attacks and the build-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 when the US and UK sidestepped the UN to began their assault on Saddam Hussein.

Simon Coveney said he hopes Ireland can be ‘a pebble in the shoe’ of the superpowers on the council. Based on past experience it’s hard to imagine that they’ll even notice.