Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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891. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on his meeting with the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, on 24 May 2015. [21263/15]

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, visited Ireland from 24 to 26 May last. This was the first official visit by the UN Secretary General since 2009 and it coincided with the launch of a programme of events to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Ireland’s membership of the UN. The visit provided an opportunity to showcase our unique contribution to the UN over the past 60 years. After receiving the Tipperary International Peace Award on Sunday, the Secretary-General visited the Curragh for events to mark Ireland’s contribution to UN Peacekeeping. He then participated in a private lunch hosted by President Higgins before meeting resettled refugees and Syrians living in Ireland. He delivered a keynote Iveagh House Commemorative Lecture on Monday, 25 May in Dublin Castle before attending a dinner hosted by the Tánaiste on behalf of the Government in Farmleigh. On Tuesday, 26 May, the Secretary-General met the Taoiseach, and his visit concluded with a youth event in Iveagh House.

On Monday, 25 May, accompanied by officials from my Department, I had a bilateral meeting with the Secretary-General and members of his delegation at Dublin Castle. We reflected on the happy coincidence that the 60th anniversary of Ireland’s membership coincides with the 70th anniversary of the UN’s existence. I reminded the Secretary-General that in line with Ireland's proud history of UN engagement we would campaign for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in 2020. We agreed that, significant anniversaries notwithstanding, 2015 is a crucial year for the United Nations. The International Conference on Financing for Development takes place in Addis Ababa in July, key climate change negotiations take place in December in Paris and Ireland is co-facilitating ongoing negotiations in New York on a set of Sustainable Development Goals which will be adopted at a summit in September to replace the Millennium Development Goals.

We also discussed human rights, including Ireland’s membership of the UN Human Rights Council for the 2013-15 term. I expressed my serious concern at the increasing persecution of religious minorities, including Christians, particularly in the Middle East, and underlined Ireland’s strong commitment to the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief. I also stated my concern at the growing restrictions on civil society space and reprisals against human rights defenders in many countries around the world, which Ireland has been active in highlighting at the UN and EU levels. Finally, I noted our commitment to continue leading our national initiatives on civil society space and preventable under-five mortality at the Human Rights Council after our membership ends in December 2015. We discussed the Middle East Peace Process and I shared with the Secretary-General my deep concern at the continued expansion of settlements and how damaging this is for the peace process. I asked that he continue to do what he can to ensure both sides retain the confidence of the UN.