Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very conscious of the debate in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe about the outcome of last month's election to the UN Commission on the Status of Women. I am a strong believer in the equal rights of women and support the role of the commission in addressing questions of gender equality.

As set out in our foreign policy review, The Global Island, Ireland is committed to advancing gender equality. We played a key role in the establishment of UN Women, the UN body which promotes gender equality and which provides administrative support for the Commission on the Status of Women. Ireland took up a seat on the commission at the conclusion of this year's session for a four-year period to 2021 and we will chair the annual sessions in 2018 and 2019. During its term on the commission, Ireland has pledged to work to strengthen the voice and functioning of the commission. Next year, the commission, under our leadership, will attach particular priority to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls in particular. In 2019 our priority will be to advance equality of access to public services. I want to secure agreement on these critical issues under the Irish chairmanship. To do this we will have to work closely with all UN member states and civil society to deliver the strongest possible outcome for women and girls. I also point out that Ireland has strongly supported equal opportunity across the United Nations. In this regard, the Government was very pleased that a member of the Defence Forces, Lieutenant Colonel Mary Carroll, was last year appointed the first Irish woman in command of an Irish contingent in the UN Disengagement Force in the Golan Heights.

With respect to UN elections, Ireland's approach very much reflects those of other countries at the United Nations and it is an important part of how international relations are conducted. Since 1947, at the United Nations, the rules of procedure for general assembly elections provide that they are held by secret ballot. We do not publicly disclose our voting intentions or decisions. That is normal diplomatic practice and it is widely considered a fundamental aspect of the conduct of sensitive international relations. It would be very damaging to Ireland's ability to conduct international relations successfully if we were to move away unilaterally from this established practice. It would be irresponsible to abandon a practice that has been in place for over six decades, observed by all previous Governments and that is grounded on protecting and promoting the values of small countries on the world stage.

This is not a practice that is specific to Ireland or to elections for the UN Commission on the Status of Women. It relates to elections to any UN body and I am not aware of any member state which, as a matter of practice, publicly reveals how it votes. It allows for the good functioning of the United Nations, which is made up of member states of very different views and political backgrounds. There are many countries in the world with which we have important policy differences, including in the area of human rights. The United Nations provides us with an important forum to discuss these differences. Our membership and leadership of the UN Commission on the Status of Women will provide us with such an opportunity. We will take that opportunity to very good effect. Ireland's engagement on human rights at international level enables us to reaffirm our commitment to the universality, indivisibility and interrelatedness of all human rights, to accountability for human rights violations and abuses and to the protection of those, including women and girls, who are most vulnerable and marginalised.

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