YouSaid · the spoken record

Micheál Martin

lines on the record: 81
first: 2008-09-24
most recent: 2022-09-24
sittings or episodes: 4
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“That takes courage, political will and commitment to collective solutions to global challenges. It takes a readiness to compromise, and it takes a genuine belief in the principles of the Charter. When, in 100 years’ time, a future Irish leader marks the bicentenary of Ireland’s independence and returns to this Hall, I hope that he or she will be making a very different speech — one that celebrates substantive, sustained progress in ending conflict and tackling global inequality, poverty and hunger; one that will not cite frustrations over the use of the veto in the Security Council to thwart the will of a majority of Member States, because the veto will be an anachronism that has long ceased to exist; one that refers to a strengthened and reformed United Nations system, structured and equipped to tackle the challenges of its day; one that remarks on the common will to uphold the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and that looks back with relief at the collective action that brought this planet back from the brink of catastrophic collapse.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“We must make progress on averting, minimizing and addressing losses and damages that are a direct result of our changing climate. On global health, Ireland has strongly supported the work of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria since its inception 20 years ago. This week we announced a significant new contribution of €65 million over three years — a 30 per cent increase over our previous such contribution — to support their important work against those diseases, as well as the related strengthening of health systems. The United Nations and the rules-based international order are central to who we are as a nation. But multilateralism can succeed only if it is effective, and it can be effective only if we, the Member States, allow it to be so.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Ending world hunger and ensuring the right to food must be placed firmly at the top of the political agenda. At major summits over the past 12 months on food systems and nutrition for growth and at the European Union-African Union Summit, Ireland has committed to helping partner countries on their journey towards sustainable, resilient and nutritious food systems. That transformation is more urgent now than ever. At the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change later this year, we will be at the forefront of efforts to combat the existential threat of climate change. Adaptation to climate change and its effects will remain a key focus of our international engagement and support.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“We have prioritized gender responsiveness in our humanitarian work, addressing the particular vulnerabilities faced by women, girls and boys in emergency settings. And we have adapted our funding and our programming so that we respond to humanitarian emergencies in a way that underpins our climate, development and peacebuilding interventions and builds the resilience of individuals, families and communities. The link between conflict and food insecurity is irrefutable. That is why we focused on hunger and conflict as a priority for our term on the Security Council. Conflict is now the main driver of hunger, reversing some of the gains made during recent decades. We are failing in the challenge to reach zero hunger. Ireland’s long-standing commitment to food security will guide our international cooperation for many years to come.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Like many others represented in this Hall, Ireland has responded by increasing its humanitarian aid. That has included direct humanitarian support of €78 million for the Horn of Africa and sustained and early funding to other severely affected countries and regions, including Yemen, Afghanistan and the Sahel. Yesterday, together with the United States, UNICEF and others, Ireland led a pledging event at which we committed an additional €50 million over three years specifically to tackle acute child malnutrition. We have also increased our core funding to the Central Emergency Response Fund in recognition of the critical importance of enabling United Nations agencies to respond rapidly as crises unfold.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“And now we see President Putin’s planned sham referendums in eastern Ukraine, aimed at forcibly changing its borders, in clear violation of the Charter. We have to name what we are seeing. Those actions, taken collectively, show Russia behaving like a rogue State. We are also seeing how the impact of Russia’s aggression reaches far beyond Ukrainian or European shores and borders. From the Horn of Africa to the Sahel and beyond, food insecurity has reached a critical tipping point. Some of the countries that have been the worst affected by the current food-insecurity crisis are those most reliant on imports of wheat from Russia and Ukraine. Combined with the impact of climate change, conflict, severe drought and other extreme weather events, we are facing a crisis that requires urgent action.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“But this is not just a European issue or a concern for the West. All States, and particularly small countries such as my own, should fear a world where might equals right, where the strong can bully the weak, where sovereignty and territorial integrity can be blatantly violated and where the Charter that all of us in the Assembly have faithfully put our trust in can be flouted with impunity. In Ukraine in July, I heard first-hand accounts from civilians of the brutality and violence visited on men, women and children by the occupying Russian forces. Where Russia’s forces have been pushed back, we have seen the wanton destruction and the uncovering of mass civilian graves such as in Bucha and, more recently, Izyum. We have seen the targeting of nuclear facilities and of civilian infrastructure.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“The heightened nuclear risks arising from Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the threats to nuclear safety and security resulting from military activity in and near civilian nuclear facilities in Ukraine are unprecedented. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons must remain an essential element of international peace and security. The urgency of its full implementation cannot be overstated. In the past few days, many of my colleagues in this Hall have spoken of Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine. For European Member States in particular it carries dark echoes of our continent’s past. We face an expansionist Power brutally invading and occupying a peaceful neighbour. While we in Europe faced that many times in the twentieth century, we did not think we would face it again in the twenty-first.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“But we continue to witness the ongoing erosion of the rights of Afghan citizens, particularly women and girls, as well as those of ethnic and religious minorities and the LGBTQI+ community. September is a month when many students around the world return to school. For girls in Afghanistan, there is no return. They have now been out of school for more than a year. That is a clear violation of their fundamental rights and freedoms. Their potential will not be fulfilled and that of Afghanistan will be weakened if the situation continues to prevail. At this time of heightened nuclear threat, it is deeply regrettable that one country alone—Russia—prevented an agreement from being reached at the tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons last month.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Progress will not be possible without addressing the root causes of the conflict. The Security Council must fulfil its responsibilities. Crucially, it must work for compliance with its own resolutions. With regard to Afghanistan, since the Taliban takeover of Kabul Ireland has resolutely defended the human rights of the Afghan people, particularly women and girls, and we have increased our humanitarian aid. We helped to ensure that the mandate for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, adopted in March through Security Council resolution 2626 (2022), was directly informed by the courageous activism of Afghan women. And we have pushed for accountability for the Taliban’s actions.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Israel’s settlement building continues — knowingly and deliberately, it would seem — to undermine the viability and territorial contiguity of a future Palestinian State and to jeopardize the possibility of a two-State solution. Settlements are a clear violation of international law and today stand in the way of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace. We should be clear that the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory is untenable. We cannot and must not become inured to it. We cannot tolerate a situation where young Palestinian people have no confidence in political progress and no hope for the future. The very real risk is that the space for the political middle ground is being squeezed out, further lessening the prospects of a just and lasting solution. The international community must renew its efforts.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“We continue with our determination to support a political solution and seek accountability for gross human rights abuses. Every month, the Security Council meets to discuss the situation in Palestine. Every month, Ireland, together with many of our fellow members of the Council, has reiterated its firm commitment to a two-State solution, with a viable Palestinian State based on the 1967 borders, living in peace and security alongside the State of Israel, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States. But we are no nearer today to that aim than we were when we joined the Council 18 months ago — and, truth be told, long before that.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“It frankly beggars belief that in 2022, the United Nations organ charged with the maintenance of peace and security has still not accepted its responsibilities in this area. It is a singular failure of political will and political responsibility. A year ago, I also spoke to the Assembly about Ireland’s deep concern about the situation in Tigray, in northern Ethiopia, the looming humanitarian catastrophe there and the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. I spoke of the vital need for a negotiated ceasefire, unfettered humanitarian access, the restoration of basic services and a political solution to the crisis. Yet a year later, we continue to raise the alarm. We continue to urge the Council to act decisively.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“But at times we have also been deeply frustrated by the Security Council’s failure to act. A year ago I stood before the Assembly (see A/76/PV.13) and spoke of our ambition for the Council to adopt a resolution on climate and security. Together with the Niger, we worked tirelessly to craft a draft resolution in the Council that reflected the reality that climate change is increasingly driving insecurity and acting as a threat multiplier. We challenged the Council to take on its responsibility to address the impact of climate change on international peace and security, and 113 countries — 113 members of the Assembly — supported us in our efforts. One country — Russia — vetoed those efforts.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“We have brought the voices of grass-roots women peacebuilders to the Council table, with a record 16 women civil-society briefers during our presidency of the Council in September. Our commitment to the protection of civilians has also informed our work in leading negotiations earlier this year to agree on a political declaration on the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. The declaration is a significant milestone that recognizes the humanitarian consequences of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas and includes a number of ambitious actions to address them. I look forward to its formal adoption at a high-level international conference in Dublin on 18 November. We have been encouraged by those successes, incremental though some of them are.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Adopted with the support of all Council members, it will help to ensure that the hard- won gains of peace are maintained when a peacekeeping mission ends. It puts the protection of civilians at the centre of United Nations planning for transitioning from military peacekeeping operations into civilian-led political missions in countries emerging from conflict. We have also seen progress on the women and peace and security agenda. As co-Chair, together with Mexico, of the Informal Expert Group on Women and Peace and Security, Ireland has ensured that the role of women as peacebuilders and agents of change is at the heart of United Nations peacekeeping and political missions across the globe.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“We have worked with our partners on the Council to extend and renew the mandates of the 14 United Nations peacekeeping operations and the many United Nations special political missions that require the Council’s approval. Day after day, across the globe, the military and civilian personnel in those missions protect civilians, monitor ceasefires, support peacebuilding, facilitate negotiations and verify the implementation of peace agreements. Among them are hundreds of Irish men and women, who carry on our proud tradition of peacekeeping and crisis management. We are deeply proud of their service. In an echo of that tradition last year, Ireland led work on Security Council resolution 2594 (2021), the Council’s first-ever resolution on peacekeeping transitions.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“As an elected member of the Security Council, Ireland has seen first-hand that political will and a commitment to the principles of the Charter can deliver results. On Syria, Ireland has worked in partnership with Norway, and with all Council members, to ensure that humanitarian aid can continue to reach the millions who need it. During our 18 months on the Council, we have twice renewed the United Nations cross-border operations, which provide crucial aid to 4 million people in the north-west of the country. Ireland will continue to work to keep that critical lifeline open. We urge other members of the Council to support their further renewal. To do otherwise would have devastating consequences for the people of Syria.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Let me quote another Irish leader and former President of Ireland, Eamon de Valera, also speaking to the League of Nations, exactly 90 years ago today. De Valera believed in the League’s potential to protect small nations through collective security. But he recognized that in order to be effective, the League’s Covenant had to be enforced and Member States had to fulfil their obligations. In his speech in September 1932, he warned that world opinion was losing faith in the League’s capacity to protect peace and stability. He said, “People are complaining that the League is devoting its activity to matters of secondary or very minor importance, while the vital international problems of the day ... are being shelved or postponed or ignored”. Ninety years on, we cannot continue to shelve, postpone or ignore our existential global challenges.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“In the General Assembly and the other organs, institutions and agencies that make up the United Nations, we have the spaces to discuss, negotiate, share experiences and craft solutions. We have an interlocking web of charters, treaties, norms, resolutions, international jurisprudence, political declarations and agreed conclusions. Our global structures are not perfect. We know that. No structures ever are. There is much that needs reform. But it is not our systems or our structures, our treaties or charters, that are fundamentally failing us. It is the lack of political will to implement and uphold them. I began my statement by quoting a former Irish Leader speaking to the League of Nations Assembly, almost 100 years ago.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“We are convening here at a time of crisis, when we are yet again facing the threat of widespread global hunger and food insecurity; when we see daily the devastating impacts of climate change, with those who bear no responsibility for its causes being most affected; when we have witnessed the most blatant disregard for international law and for the Charter of the United Nations on my own home continent of Europe; and when much of the progress that we were making towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals has stalled or gone into reverse as we grapple with the continuing effects of the coronavirus disease pandemic. It does not have to be this way. We have the tools and the systems to address those issues.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Those same principles, articulated 100 years ago by the League’s newest member, continue to inform our actions today — the belief that all countries have an equal right to live in peace; that all countries, no matter how small, have a contribution to make to international peace and security and to economic and social development; and that all people have the right to live in dignity and to have their human rights and fundamental freedoms respected. One hundred years later, we as a global community are very far from living up to those principles.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“Cosgrave, spoke of Ireland’s desire to “avert the ancient evils of warfare and oppression; to encourage wholesome, and to discourage unwholesome relations between nation and nation; to enable even the weakest of nations to live their own lives and make their own proper contribution to the good of all, free even from the shadow and the fear of external violence, vicious penetration or injurious pressure of any kind”. Those are the ideals that guide Ireland’s foreign policy.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“This year Ireland marks the centenary of its independence. The Irish Free State was established on 6 December 1922, when we began our journey as an independent sovereign nation. From the start of that journey, we were a nation that looked outwards. One of our first acts was to apply to join the League of Nations. The following year, in his first address to the Assembly of the League of Nations, the then President of the Irish Government’s Executive Council, W. T.”
2022-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 77 (2022)
“The United Nations can only do what we ask of it when we, its members, allow it; when we deliver the resources, the support, the political will and the constructive engagement needed for it to deliver. As I stand here today, I am reminded of the ambitions, the goals and the dreams of billions of people. They have placed their trust in us, and they expect us to work together to solve the greatest challenges facing our global community. We know that with political will, we can be deserving of that trust. Ireland will continue to play its part, to build consensus and to advocate fiercely for the multilateral system and the people we have pledged to serve.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“For that reason, in the coming days, Ireland will convene a discussion on a Security Council thematic draft resolution on climate and security. At COP 26, we must all, North and South of this vulnerable planet, muster the courage to take bold and ambitious action. We need to keep global warming to as close to 1.5° C as possible. For its part, Ireland will reduce its emissions by 51 per cent by 2030 compared to 2018 levels. Along with our partners in the European Union, we will achieve net neutrality by 2050. It is also critical that we meet our collective commitment to providing $100 billion in financing to developing countries. We cannot fail. Our future depends on it. We can all identify times when we, the United Nations, have fallen short.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“But we can see the adverse effects of climate change already exacerbating conflict and insecurity, compounding other drivers of conflict such as poverty, inequality and human rights violations. We have ample evidence of that. As co-Chair of the Informal Expert Group on Climate and Security, along with the Niger, Ireland has worked throughout the year with our fellow Council members to better understand those links and inform the Council about the steps we can take to address climate-related security risks. We know that not all Council members are of one mind on that. My hope is that by working together, we can and will reach a shared understanding of how the Security Council can meet the challenge of climate and security. There is no time to waste.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Yesterday, I had the privilege of presiding over a Council debate on climate and security (see S/PV.8864). As we heard from the Secretary-General on Tuesday (see A/76/PV.3), we can no longer deny the reality that climate change is the single greatest challenge facing our generation. Its impact on our environment and ecosystems is devastating, and our collective security is at risk. Time and time again, we have seen that the most catastrophic effects disproportionately affect the most vulnerable and the least responsible. We must deliver on the Paris Agreement commitments, and we will shortly have important discussions at the twenty- sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 26).”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“In Ireland, we have learned the importance of an inclusive approach to building peace. Those who make war cannot and should not have a monopoly on the terms of peace. It is crucial to ensure that women, young people and civil society — often excluded — are at the centre of our shared work to build and maintain peace. The promotion of gender equality and the women and peace and security agenda is a golden thread throughout our work. Human rights are universal and indivisible. They belong to us all. We will not falter in calling for full compliance with international law, including international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international refugee law. We will stand by the International Criminal Court, the cornerstone of the international system of criminal justice.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Today there are more than 500 Irish personnel serving in United Nations and European Union peacekeeping and crisis-management operations. Every person who serves in a blue helmet deserves a mandate that matches the reality of the conflict on the ground and an assurance that resources in turn match mandates. Equally, the transition from peacekeeping to peacebuilding is a critical moment, when sustainable peace is within our grasp but often at its most fragile. Security Council resolution 2594 (2021), led by Ireland and adopted unanimously earlier this month by the Council with the support of 97 members of the General Assembly, sends a strong and united message that the United Nations is committed to supporting its members through this sensitive juncture on the path to peace. There can be no gaps when it comes to protecting civilians.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“They refuse to be silenced, to be erased from public life. Our role and responsibility is to stand with them. So much has been achieved in the past 20 years. There can be no going back. For all of us in this Hall, we can and must agree that the rights of Afghan women and girls are a non-negotiable principle. At its best, United Nations peacekeeping is a remarkable and meaningful expression of multilateralism and international solidarity. We have always seen that service as a noble and important calling. For more than six decades, Irish women and men have served. Every village, town and neighbourhood in our island has bid farewell to a Blue Beret upon deployment and counted the days to his or her return. Some never made it home.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Millions of Afghans are in need of urgent support, including those recently displaced by conflict, violence and intimidation. Full, safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian organizations and all of their personnel, regardless of gender, must be facilitated. The most vulnerable — women, girls, boys, men, LGBTQI persons and people with disabilities — must be protected. The situation of Afghan women and girls has been foremost in our thoughts. Over the past 20 years, Afghan women have asserted their rights and continue to do so. Those rights include full and equal access to education, the right to health care, the right to freedom of movement in their own country and the right to participate fully in public life. Women and girls have been educated in enormous numbers and have been leading and participating in all aspects of society.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Ireland was deeply frustrated by the Security Council’s inability to speak throughout this latest outbreak of hostilities. While we welcomed press statement SC/14527, agreed on 22 May, it was too little, too late. A comprehensive, just and lasting peace is possible. Ireland is committed to achieving a two-State solution, with a viable State of Palestine based on the 1967 borders, living in peace and security alongside the State of Israel, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States. Young people, Palestinians and Israelis, are losing hope that peace can be achieved. As leaders, we must act now. I call on the international community to come together to renew efforts for a just and lasting resolution, including through a reinvigorated Middle East Quartet. The world has watched in horror at the violence and chaos in Afghanistan.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“We warmly welcome the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. As Security Council facilitator for resolution 2231 (2015), on the Iran nuclear deal, we have engaged extensively to encourage a return to compliance by all parties. We welcome the commitment of the United States Administration to returning to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement. We urge Iran to seize this opportunity to return swiftly to talks in Vienna and to come back into full compliance with the agreement, including by cooperating fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency. The escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in May resulted in more lives lost, including the shocking deaths of more than 70 children.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“For 10 months a humanitarian catastrophe has unfolded before our eyes, and the threat of famine looms large. That is unconscionable. We are speaking out clearly at this meeting today, as we have done in the Council for months. We must stand firm and united in support of the Secretary-General’s call for a negotiated ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian access and the restoration of basic services to all the areas affected, as well as a political solution to the crisis. A hallmark of Irish foreign policy is our firm commitment to a world free of nuclear weapons. Next week the Security Council will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. We are committed to achieving a successful and substantive outcome for the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“With Norway, Ireland is leading work in the Security Council to ensure that humanitarian aid continues to reach all in Syria who need it. In July, the Council acted as one when it adopted resolution 2585 (2021), which ensured a continuation of the vital United Nations operation that provides aid to 3.4 million people in north-western Syria. But humanitarian aid cannot be a substitute for political will. What the 13 million Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance require most is a political solution. Since January, Ireland has consistently urged the Council to act in response to the deteriorating situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. We have been horrified by reports of gross human rights abuses and violations, including widespread and systematic sexual and gender-based violence.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“It is a lesson hard learned that when we in this building are divided, it is the most vulnerable who suffer the consequences. The promise of the Charter of the United Nations is to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Today I call on all members of the Council to set aside political differences and to work to uphold that promise. Syria presents an urgent example of where that is needed. This year we marked 10 years of conflict in that country. For many, the conflict in Syria is emblematic of the failure of the United Nations and of the Security Council in particular. On too many occasions, in the face of immense suffering, the Council chooses inaction. Often, in response, it has been the General Assembly that has stepped up and stepped in. It has taken bold action critical to the resolution of that conflict.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“In my address to the Assembly last year (see A/75/PV.12), I assured Member States that Ireland was ready to assume its responsibility on the Security Council — a responsibility entrusted to us by our fellow members of the General Assembly. We do not take that responsibility lightly. Our own experience of conflict on the island of Ireland has taught us that building peace is painstaking, long and often frustrating. We expected that our time on the Council would reflect that complexity and would require stamina, ingenuity, compromise and determination. And so it has proved. Every day for the past nine months, we have sought to use our voice to defend our principles and make progress towards a peaceful resolution of some of the world’s most pressing conflicts. Progress has not always been possible. Too often the Council has been divided.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“But we have a rare opportunity now to build back fairer, greener and better. The SDGs provide us with the blueprint. So too, does Our Common Agenda — the Secretary-General’s vision for a future of global cooperation through an inclusive, networked and effective multilateralism. It is incumbent on all of us to grasp this moment to invest in a better world for all. For Ireland, our membership in the European Union has shown us that pooling our sovereignty enhances rather than diminishes it; that abiding by international law brings immeasurable benefits; and that our commitment to multilateralism is not simply a stock phrase to insert into a speech, but is at the heart of who we are as a nation and a people.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“In Ireland, we have quadrupled funding to the World Health Organization in response to the pandemic. We must also consider change, where needed, to strengthen the multilateral architecture on pandemic prevention and response. When we reflect on the last 18 months, one thing is clear. The pandemic caught the world off guard. It has put into stark relief the simple and regrettable fact that we have not made sufficient progress in reducing poverty, increasing access to quality health care and education or combating the climate crisis. Had we made more progress in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), our societies would have been more resilient and better prepared to weather the storm, and lives would have been spared. We have less than a decade to achieve those ambitious global goals.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“The rapid establishment of the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility and the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator represent multilateralism at its best. I urge all Member States to continue to support the COVAX mechanism. It is the only way we can meet the target of a fully vaccinated world by mid-2022. Ireland is in the process of donating 1.3 million vaccine doses to low-income countries, mainly through COVAX, with a further significant donation planned in 2022. Our support to global health since the outbreak of the pandemic now exceeds €200 million. The World Health Organization should remain at the heart of our global response to this and future pandemics. However, we must provide it with the political and financial support it needs to do that job.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a shadow over our world. It has deepened global inequality even as it has heightened our sense of interdependence. The people of the world now look to us, to the General Assembly Hall, to act and to lead. We cannot let them down. The simple fact is that we cannot succeed in addressing those global challenges without a strong, effective and fair multilateral system. As we begin to emerge from the shadow of the pandemic, let us do so more united in our resolve and firm in our conviction that the United Nations delivers for those who rely on it most. Let us commit to tackling this pandemic together, in order to make “leave no one behind” more than a mere slogan, in our words and, more importantly, in our deeds. Vaccine inequity is a moral test for our global community.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“This week, in this Hall, a series of alarms have sounded. They have sounded for conflict; they have sounded for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic; they have sounded for climate. We have heard the alarms; now we must respond. I believe that this is what the General Assembly, our Assembly of Nations, was created to do — our purpose, our obligation. The United Nations is a symbol of hope for billions of people around the world: the United Nations flag, a beacon of peace across the globe; the Blue Helmets, guardians to the most vulnerable; United Nations convoys, a lifeline to millions. The obligation we assume in this Hall is to transform that hope, in the face of our common challenges, into a better future for all our peoples. Today, the climate crisis threatens our very existence on this shared and endangered planet.”
2021-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 76 (2021)
“Small states such as Ireland depend on the rules-based international order to survive and to thrive. As a member of the Council, we will tirelessly uphold the primacy of the United Nations and the multilateral system as a whole. We will be guided by the principles of the UN Charter. We will listen. We will work across regional and ideological boundaries. We do not have historical baggage, or special interests. We intend, Mr. President, to make every day count. Thank you.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“The UN’s work on human rights, international development, disarmament, trade and economic cooperation, terrorism and crime, the use of technology and safety of cyberspace, remains critical. We need to see full achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, Agenda 2030 and Agenda 2063. We must continue to support an effective, coherent multilateral response to Covid-19. The guidance and global coordination efforts by the World Health Organisation have been crucial. And Ireland is proud to be part of the European Union’s unprecedented global response, including support to the COVAX Facility, which will ensure developing countries have access to vaccines. Mr President, The United Nations is not one monolithic body. The United Nations is all of its 193-member states; it is us.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“Peacekeeping missions such as UNIFIL and UNDOF — both of which have strong Irish participation - provide vital stability in volatile regions. Numerous peace agreements around the world have been brokered by the UN, with the active support of the Security Council. But we need to see more concrete outcomes, more often. That is what the Security Council was created to do. We must build the trust and political will necessary to achieve progress in even the most intractable conflicts. My primary focus today has been on Ireland’s forthcoming membership of the Security Council. But we are at all times cognizant that the United Nations is a far broader and deeper entity.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“We will also carefully consider plans for the drawdown of some peacekeeping missions, ensuring there are no ‘cliff edge’ departures; rather, we need comprehensive and inclusive transition plans that safeguard progress towards security and development. The Peacebuilding Commission has an essential role to play in this regard. Mr President, The Security Council is often criticised for its failure to prevent and resolve conflict. Sometimes, that criticism is justified. But we must also remember the successes. We have seen, for instance, the significant contribution that the Security Council and the wider UN system made to the peace process in Colombia, including the verification of the laying down of arms, clearance of ordnance, and the reintegration of former combatants.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear programme must be implemented in full — it is the most effective mechanism for preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran must also end destabilizing activities in the region, to create a context for an alternative future of economic cooperation and development. Peace and security in Africa, a key focus of the Council, has been an important priority for Ireland since the deployment of Irish UN peacekeepers to the Congo 60 years ago. On the Council, we will actively support peace and democratic progress in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, the Central African Republic, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“These are reflected in the General Assembly resolution Ireland introduced in 2018, and balance the legitimate rights and responsibilities of both sides. As an international community, we need to create the space for direct negotiations. Ireland has long championed disarmament and non proliferation. We played an important role in negotiating the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and are proud to have become the 41st country to ratify it, this year. Nuclear proliferation must remain at the heart of the Council’s work. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea must abandon all nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)
“States cannot unilaterally decide which aspects of international law to adhere to, and which to set aside when politically inconvenient. Mr President, The Council has a large number of country situations on its agenda. From Syria, to Libya, to Yemen, our approach will be driven by a profound concern for protecting citizens and improving humanitarian conditions. We will support efforts for peace in Afghanistan, in which the rights of women must be included and respected. We will also work tirelessly to promote tangible progress towards a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. Security Council resolutions set out recognised international parameters for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
2020-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 75 (2020)