Neutrality is our best way to get seat at UN
IRELAND’S involvement with United Nations peacekeeping should make it very suitable for membership of the UN Security Council (Mail).
However, a surprising aspect to our Government’s campaign for membership has been its failure to mention the word neutrality.
Ireland’s neutrality was a key factor in our participation in UN peacekeeping for many decades and this enhanced our reputation within the international community.
It would appear from the UN Security Council campaign optics so far that our Government is embarrassed by the issue of Irish neutrality.
If we are to have a reasonable chance of success (for membership of the UN Security Council) when up against Nato members Norway and Canada, we must find ways of differentiating our application from theirs, and surely Irish neutrality should be a winning point with the large majority of the non-Nato members of the United Nations.
The Canadian air force dropped 250 bombs on Libya in 2011 and the Norwegian air force dropped more than twice that, and both provided military support for US efforts to overthrow the Syrian government.
Ireland’s application for a United Nations Security Council seat should be based on being a genuine neutral, altruistic country, and the most appropriate way to commemorate the 88 peacekeeping heroes who gave their lives for international peace, will be to restore genuine Irish neutrality. CMDT EDWARD HORGAN (RETD), former UN peacekeeper, Limerick.