Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ireland is all for reform of the Security Council. We would like to see the veto either not used or limited to use in specific areas. France, in particular, has made efforts to try to limit the use of the veto in certain areas, especially in respect of war crimes, accusations of war crimes and when humanitarian law is being breached, by the use of chemical weapons, for example. The idea that a veto could be used to prevent an investigation into the use of chemical weapons is abhorrent in many ways. We support France's efforts and we will work to try to bring about more reform.

We also think there should be more permanent members on the Security Council. Some very large countries that are very influential in global affairs are not part of permanent representation on the Security Council. We also do not believe Africa has sufficient representation. We have made our views known in those areas but if, during our time on the Security Council, we were to focus solely on reform of it, we would try but we might not achieve a whole lot. These are powerful countries. The Security Council is not a democracy. There are five permanent members that have powers the other ten do not.

The Security Council is a place of negotiation, relationships and lots of tension. We are trying to be a broker for agreement in areas where we can see opportunities to make a positive impact. So far, we have managed to do that in some strategic areas, especially around humanitarian assistance for Syria and shining a spotlight on Ethiopia, going right back to February when Ireland started talking about that issue. We have managed to do it through a resolution on peacekeeping transitions and we have also managed to do it around disarmament. We have been a very strong voice in trying to pull people together on Afghanistan. We are relevant and that is what a small country on the Security Council needs to aspire to be.