Leo insists: ‘No vanity’ in Irish bid for UN seat
‘This is serious stuff’
LEO Varadkar has rejected suggestions that our bid for a seat on the UN Security Council is a ‘vanity project’, insisting: ‘This is serious stuff.’
Ireland is competing against Canada and Norway for a two-year stint on one of two seats on the United Nations’s most powerful branch.
But some commentators have suggested resources devoted to that campaign would be better spent elsewhere, while others say the Government should concentrate on Brexit.
Speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters, the Taoiseach said he considers the campaign to be a good investment. ‘The UN is an important place where important decisions are made. This is where decisions are made about where peacekeepers should go, and where our peacekeepers might serve,’ he said. ‘It’s where decisions are made on sanctions and even, on occasion, where decisions are made on whether or not the world should go to war, so there is no vanity here – this is serious stuff.’
The bid was launched in New York City on Sunday night with a performance by U2 at Madison Square Garden, which was attended by 152 of the 193 UN ambassadors, leaving Irish diplomats purring. The country will need to secure the votes of 123 nations to get the twothirds majority necessary to obtain a seat on the council for 2021 and 2022.
But both Norway and Canada will present strong bids and Irish diplomats are referring to it as ‘the group of death’.
A successful campaign will greatly strengthen Ireland’s international reputation at a time of global uncertainty, as the protectionism and isolationism witnessed in the US and UK are considered major threats to our global economy.
The Government’s view is that our neutrality, history of migration, peacekeeping and position as a former colony offers us a unique understanding on global security issues.
During his speech at the formal launch of the bid at the UN last night, Mr Varadkar said: ‘As a nation that has experi- enced colonisation, conflict, famine and mass migration, Ireland’s lived history resonates with the aims and objectives of the UN Charter. Ireland has a longstanding commitment to working for the eradication of poverty and hunger in the world. We migrated in millions and we recall the great compassion and the opportunities given to us by so many when we were “the huddled masses yearning to be free”. It is seared on our collective memories.’
Earlier, he told reporters: ‘It’s very much about Ireland seeing itself as a country at the centre of the world. When it comes to foreign policy, we need to prepare for Ireland post-Brexit. And that means being at the heart of Europe’.
Yesterday, the Taoiseach laid a wreath at UN headquarters in commemoration of the 88 members of our Defence Forces who died on active duty. Praising their efforts over the last 60 years, he said the blue cap they wear has become as much a symbol of Ireland as the shamrock or the harp.
The Security Council bid is a central part of the Government’s Global Ireland strategy, which aims to increase our worldwide influence. The vote will take place late in 2020.