Written answers

Wednesday, 27 June 2018

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

UN Security Council

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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87. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the status of Ireland's efforts to obtain a seat at the UN Security Council. [27691/18]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Ireland is seeking election to a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2021-2022 term. We are one of three candidates for the two available seats in the Western Europe and Others Group regional group. The other two candidates are Canada and Norway which, like Ireland, have strong records of engagement at the UN. In order to be elected to the Security Council, Ireland will need to obtain the support of two-thirds of the membership of the United Nations General Assembly – approximately 129 votes of the 193 Member States – at the election that will take place in June 2020. Our candidature was first announced in 2005 and the campaign has been building since then under successive Governments. I am taking every opportunity to raise our candidature with representatives of Member States and to press the value of Ireland playing our role on the Council. The official launch of Ireland’s campaign for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council will take place at UN Headquarters in New York on 2 July. I will join the Taoiseach at this event.

Although Ireland has been making its case for election for some time already, the official launch is an important point in a Security Council election campaign and marks the beginning of an even more intensive period of lobbying. I, along with all my Cabinet colleagues, will be intensifying efforts to make Ireland’s case. This political engagement is being supported by my Department’s diplomatic personnel.

In addition to the direct lobbying of Member State representatives by members of the Government, Irish diplomats and others, an important dimension of a Security Council election campaign is how a candidature is communicated. Campaign messaging will focus on Ireland’s contribution to the UN since we joined in 1955. It will aim to contextualise Ireland’s UN engagement as part of how Ireland sees itself in the world – a global island which wants to share our culture and values.

If Ireland were to be elected to a non-permanent seat on the Security Council our fundamental approach to any agenda item would be to advocate for the core values of our foreign policy – peace and security, justice, equality and sustainability.

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