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

I question that we have had a disappointing start. We just got elected to the UN Security Council, against the odds, which was a significant achievement for Irish diplomacy. It reminds us that a small country such as Ireland matters and when we put our mind to it, we can persuade a significant majority of countries within the UN that Ireland is a country worth trusting on the UN Security Council. That is what has been achieved. What has to happen next is that we have to use that privilege and ensure that while on the Security Council we make a real difference, in many of the areas that I hope all parties in this House will be able to support. Ireland's membership of the Security Council will be guided by the principles and values enshrined in the UN Charter, which have informed Irish foreign policy over many decades.

I will highlight three overarching principles that will guide our approach. The first is building peace, including championing the UN's role in peacekeeping, reinforcing the link between peacekeeping and peace-building, and further developing co-operation on peace and security between the UN and regional organisations. We need to ensure that peace is inclusive and fully involves civil society, particularly women and young people.

The second is preventing conflict. This means strengthening the full spectrum of the UN's conflict prevention activities, including preventative diplomacy, mediation and non-proliferation and disarmament, and addressing the structural drivers of conflict and insecurity, particularly climate change.

The third is ensuring accountability. This means upholding the rule of law, in particular international humanitarian and human rights law, prioritising the protection of civilians in conflict, ensuring humanitarian access and fighting against impunity.

As a member of the Security Council, we will make every effort to support the meaningful inclusion of marginalised persons and groups in its work. We will aim to ensure that peace processes involve not only governments and the parties to conflicts, but also civil society, women and young people, from the very beginning and throughout the conflict cycle. This is one of the lessons that we have learned from our own experience of conflict on this island. This is also in keeping with the approach Ireland has adopted in its work in support of human rights and in on international development co-operation. This inclusive approach will also inform our broader work across a wide range of issues on the agenda of the Security Council. We will engage with a broad range of partners in an effort to do that.

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