Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

If I had time to complete my reply, I would have dealt with the issue of non-proliferation. Both the Taoiseach and I referred in our separate addresses to the fact we were very disappointed about the lack of an outcome in respect of the NPT. At a previous review conference on the NPT some months ago, I addressed the General Assembly on behalf of Ireland and referred to the fact that the original treaty was called the Irish treaty. Ireland was the first country asked to sign it. The treaty was, in effect, the brainchild of a predecessor of mine, the former Fianna Fáil Minister Frank Aiken. I said at the UN General Assembly and privately to Kofi Annan that Ireland is ready, willing and able to assist in the continuing efforts to achieve an outcome regarding this issue. As the Deputy may know, there will be a discussion in the General Assembly on all these issues, particularly at the first committee which refers to disarmament and non-proliferation.

I do not accept what the Deputy said on the lack of achievement and my involvement in this matter. I was asked specifically to get the European Union to back the proposals so other blocs and countries might follow a similar path. The European Union was the leader in these reforms in respect of the entire remit of the proposals. It is true that there was disagreement at EU level regarding the Security Council, just as there was in every other bloc and area. This is ultimately a matter for the nation states. Members may question the Irish position regarding the Security Council but the decision we took was vindicated. If I had come down on one side or the other, particularly while wearing my hat as UN envoy, it would have placed me in a somewhat invidious position in view of the fact that Kofi Annan had said, time and again, that neither he nor his envoys should involve themselves in the discussion on the Security Council given that the decision thereon was entirely a matter for member states. If we had concentrated on the Security Council, as some states did, it would have been to the detriment of the other topics, which were far more important to ordinary human beings.

I do not accept that there were no achievements. There was a very dramatic achievement regarding the peace-building commission. Ireland was a great supporter of this from day one. A complete commitment was made regarding the millennium development goals, which surprised some people. A further dramatic achievement included the commitment to abolish the Commission on Human Rights in favour of a human rights council, which I believe will happen over time. Further progress was made regarding the responsibility to protect principle, which in effect means the types of incidents we saw in Rwanda and Srebrenica will not happen again. I therefore do not accept what Deputy Allen stated. There was a good outcome. As the new President of the General Assembly, a Swede called Jan Eliasson, stated, the achievement of the outcome is a bridgehead for further development regarding all these issues.

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