Joe Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 8: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his address to the foreign policy club, Centre for International Relations, in Warsaw in May 2005; the position regarding the reform of the United Nations system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18506/05]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 74: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of meetings with his European counterparts he has held since assuming the position of responsibility concerning the reform of the United Nations; the outcome of these meetings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18607/05]

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 84: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the contact he has had with other EU Governments regarding UN reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18608/05]

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 101: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his recent visits to Copenhagen, The Hague, Belgrade, Ljubljana and Vienna in his capacity as the UN Secretary General's special envoy; the issues that were discussed during these visits; and if any further visits are planned in the immediate future. [18494/05]

Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 8, 74, 84 and 101 together.

Deputies will be aware that preparations are well advanced for the summit that will take place at the United Nations next September at which Heads of State and Government will seek to restore momentum to the achievement of the millennium development goals; agree on reforms that will strengthen the system of collective security, based on the United Nations; enhance the human rights function of the United Nations; and reform its institutions and management structures. It is a priority for the Government to do whatever it can to promote the success of the summit.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, was honoured to be appointed by UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, as one of five envoys to act on his behalf in encouraging governments to take the decisions necessary to ensure a satisfactory outcome at the September summit. The appointment is an indication of the esteem in which Ireland is held by the Secretary General and of its track record of commitment to the United Nations. As UN envoy, the task of the Minister, Deputy Ahern, is to make the case for the broad package of recommendations and reforms set out in the UN Secretary General's recent report, In Larger Freedom.

The Minister was asked by the Secretary General to focus his efforts on Europe. However, none of the envoys is confined in his or her activities to any one geographic area and the Minister has recently undertaken a number of bilateral meetings, as envoy, with colleagues from a range of Latin American and Arab states.

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

We cannot see him at all.

Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

There are two men representing him. That is not a bad response by Government — to give two instead of one.

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Two in a row, in fact.

Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The work of the envoys is vital to the preparatory process as it is evident that success in September will require governments to step back from hitherto entrenched positions and take decisions in the wider interest of all members and the multilateral system that serves them. The work that the envoys are carrying out with governments is intended to complement the dialogue and debate in which members' delegations in New York are engaged, under the guidance of the president of the General Assembly.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs commenced his series of envoy visits shortly after his appointment by the Secretary General on 4 April and his subsequent briefing of his EU colleagues at the informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers held on 15 and 16 April. He has subsequently met a number of Foreign Ministers, including those from within the European Union, as well as high representative Javier Solana and external relations Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner. The Minister gave an updated briefing to partners at the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 23 May.

To date, the Minister has travelled to capitals to meet his counterparts from Belgium, Italy, San Marino, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Austria and Spain. In his capacity as envoy, the Minister addressed the Council of Europe summit, held in Warsaw on 16 and 17 May. On 18 May, he met the President and Foreign Minister of Poland. He also took the opportunity to confer with the Foreign Ministers of Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Liechtenstein. He further conferred with his fellow envoy, President Vike Freiberga of Latvia. The Minister also, on 17 May, gave the opening statement at the meeting of the foreign policy club at the Centre for International Relations in Warsaw.

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The Minister is a busy man.

Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

He is very busy. In his statement, the Minister set out the case for the reforms necessary to ensure that the United Nations is able to act effectively in the maintenance of international peace and security, the promotion of human rights and the promotion of economic and social progress. The Minister, as envoy, addressed the meeting of the Euro-Atlantic partnership council, hosted by Sweden in Åre, on 24 May. At the council meeting, he took the opportunity to meet the Foreign Ministers of Sweden, Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as well as the US Undersecretary of State, Mr. Burns.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The European Union held an extensive and substantive discussion with its Latin American partners on the preparations for the September summit at the EU Rio group meeting held on 27 May. At the invitation of the Presidency, the Minister briefed the meeting on his role as envoy and discussed the prospects of and priorities for a successful outcome from the summit. The Minister also had interesting and useful meetings with his Argentinian and Chilean colleagues, at which they discussed UN reform.

The European Union also discussed UN reform and the September summit with its Mediterranean partners at the seventh Euro-Mediterranean ministerial meeting on 30 May. The Minister discussed the preparation of the summit in bilateral meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Algeria, Syria and the Palestinian Authority. Yesterday in New York, the Minister had meetings with the UN Secretary General, the president of the General Assembly and the other envoys where they took stock of the current situation and discussed the preparation of the summit. The president of the General Assembly is expected to publish proposals in the coming days which will form the basis for future consideration by the member states.

I am not in a position to comment on the contents of the Minister's meetings with his Foreign Minister colleagues. He has undertaken to convey the views expressed in his meetings to the UN Secretary General in strict confidence. The effectiveness of his mission and that of the other envoys demands that the exchanges remain confidential. I confirm that the meetings to date have been productive, informative and of value to the Secretary General and his support team.

Regarding the current position on UN reform, discussions are continuing at the United Nations on the recommendations contained in the Secretary General's In Larger Freedom report. Ireland and its European Union partners continue to press for the adoption of a positive and balanced package of measures at the September summit.

Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The time allowed for questions has elapsed.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I understand that, but we lost time during the earlier confusion.

Séamus Pattison (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I have allowed for that.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I have a short, supplementary question. Obviously the Minister for Foreign Affairs is casting his net wide. However, I referred to his speech in Warsaw, which includes the following statement:

International law has long recognised the right of states to take action to pre-empt an imminent attack. Preventive action against a potential threat, however, should remain a matter for the Security Council.

Therefore, what the Minister had to say on Iraq was misleading. Article 51 of the UN Charter enables a country to defend itself, to pre-empt attack that is imminent, but it must respond with reasonable force. In fairness to the Government, I understand that it was against the principle of pre-emptive strikes which led to the fundamental illegality of the strike against Iraq with its appalling consequences which are still obvious today.

Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I welcome what Deputy Higgins has said. He is correct in his interpretation of the Government's position. While the Minister for Foreign Affairs may have cast his net wide from an international perspective, he has been asked to do so on behalf of the United Nations. That indicates an excellent attitude on our part and it also shows that Ireland is held in great regard by the UN. The Minister is doing his utmost, as a Member of this Parliament and a member of the Government, to make a unique contribution to the continued evolution and development and modernisation of the United Nations at a critical time in the history of mankind.