John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 169: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his recent activities as special envoy for UN Secretary General Kofi Annan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18712/05]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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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 central priority for the Government to do what it can to promote the success of the summit.

I was honoured to have been 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 envoy, my task 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. In doing so, I am working with the Secretary General and UN members to overcome the obstacles and challenges that confront the reform agenda, which the Secretary General has described as "bold but achievable".

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

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.

I commenced my series of envoy visits shortly after my appointment by the Secretary General on 4 April and my subsequent briefing of EU colleagues at the Informal Meeting of EU Foreign Ministers held on 15 and 16 April. I have 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. I gave an updated briefing to partners at the General Affairs and External Relations Council on 23 May.

To date, I have travelled to capitals to meet my counterparts from Belgium, Italy, San Marino, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Austria and Spain.

In my capacity as envoy, I addressed the Council of Europe Summit, held in Warsaw on 16 and 17 May. On 18 May, I met the President and Foreign Minister of Poland. I also took the opportunity to confer with the Foreign Ministers of Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Liechtenstein. I further conferred with my fellow envoy, President Vike-Freiberga of Latvia. On 17 May, I also gave the opening statement at the meeting of the Foreign Policy Club at the Centre for International Relations. In my statement I 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.

As envoy, I addressed the meeting of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, hosted by Sweden in Åre on 24 May. At the Council meeting, I took the opportunity to meet the Foreign Ministers of Sweden, Albania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and the US Under Secretary of State.

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, I briefed the meeting on my role as envoy and discussed the prospects of, and priorities for, a successful outcome from the summit. As envoy, I also had interesting and useful meetings with my Argentinian and Chilean colleagues.

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. As envoy, I addressed the meeting and discussed the preparation of the summit with the Foreign Ministers of Egypt, Algeria, Syria and the Palestinian Authority. Further meetings are planned for the coming weeks.

Today in New York, I will have meetings with the UN Secretary General, the President of the General Assembly and the other envoys where we will take stock of the current situation and discuss 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.

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