YouSaid · the spoken record

Spring

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS SPRING

lines on the record: 102
first: 1993-09-24
most recent: 1995-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
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

““Today, a half-century later, it is our duty and our privilege to take this project to its next stage — the achievement of an age of peace, development and security.””
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“If these guarantees and assurances can be authoritatively and credibly underscored by a respected and objective outside agency, so much the better. That is why the idea of an international dimension to this confidence-building process is so appealing. We continue to work on it, in the hope that it can provide a bridge for all sides to overcome the present difficulty. 28 The Secretary-General has eloquently expressed the essence of our task in this anniversary year by saying, “To support the United Nations is not, and never has been, to subsidize a separate, independent entity. Today, more than ever, to support the United Nations is to participate in the only world Organization composed of all humanity and in the service of all humanity.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We need all those who have been part of the problem to become, as far as possible, part of the solution. Given the depth and cost of the problem, participation in negotiations should be treated as a necessity and a duty, not a privilege to be jealously withheld or awarded. If we multiply preconditions, we are in danger of saying, in effect, that negotiations can take place only when the problems they are supposed to address have already been largely solved. In saying this, I do not wish to be in any way dismissive of the genuine difficulty many people in Northern Ireland have in dealing on an equal footing with those who have in the past used or condoned violence and coercion. It is clear that there is ample room for further guarantees and assurances aimed at building trust and confidence in relation to this sensitive issue.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We seek to avoid, as far as possible, symbolic overtones of surrender or of a one-sided admission of guilt. In this context, no less than in other contexts in Northern Ireland, the concepts of victory and defeat will never offer a solution. To make the decommissioning of weapons a precondition for entry into negotiations, as opposed to an important goal to be realized in that process, ignores the psychology and motivation of those on both sides in Ireland who have resorted to violence and the lessons of conflict resolution elsewhere. We should treat negotiations, as far as possible, as a practical step. Rather than surrounding entry into negotiations with preconditions, we should instead seek to build golden bridges to enable and encourage all to take part.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“It would be ironic and dangerous if those who have been persuaded to abandon violence were now to be denied the chance to make their case politically. It is vital, therefore, that obstacles in the way of comprehensive negotiations should now be overcome. One of the most difficult obstacles is that the continued existence of arsenals of guns and explosives is a source of fear, anxiety and mistrust. The Irish Government, for its part, is absolutely determined that all arms should be erased from the political equation as soon as possible. Any debate is about the best means of achieving this, not about whether it should be done. It is because of the importance of this goal that we wish to situate it in the context where it is most likely to be achieved in practice.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The test of statesmanship for any leader in Northern Ireland and the kind of solution we seek are not about abating the rights of either community. They are about finding ways to respect them which are compatible with equally important rights on the other side. We know that talks can succeed only if both communities in Northern Ireland are reliably and authentically represented at those talks. Nationalism should be represented in its integrity at those talks, and so also must unionism. Both have to spell out how they propose to accommodate satisfactorily a tradition and an identity which is not their own. Both Governments have explicitly set inclusive and comprehensive negotiations as their goal, yet these have not yet begun. That failure is frustrating and threatens to dissipate the momentum towards a lasting peace.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The denial of the principle of consent, and of mutual respect, has been costly in the past. The relative weights of the communities within Northern Ireland, as in Ireland as a whole, mean that coercion is quite simply impossible, even if anyone were foolish enough to attempt it. Cooperation and consent at all levels are not just the best policy, but the only possible policy. Because of this reality, the politics of the peace process must be resolutely inclusive. Any viable settlement must deal with each community as it defines itself, not as others would find it convenient for it to be. For that reason, I welcome the fact that the new leader of Ulster unionism is among the most forceful and assertive representatives of his community’s philosophy.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The success of these intergovernmental efforts will, however, be measured ultimately by attitudes of the two communities within Northern Ireland. The attitude of the 27 nationalist tradition has been characterized by an ever growing acceptance of the principle that there would be no change in the status of Northern Ireland without the consent of a majority of the people there. They look in turn to the unionist community for an acknowledgement that the principle of consent, as well as being a rightful protection for unionists against the imposition of a united Ireland against the wishes of a majority of the people in Northern Ireland, also implies the rights of nationalists in Northern Ireland to be governed by structures which are relevant and responsive in terms of their allegiance and aspirations.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“While this is not a blueprint to be imposed on the parties, it reflects long and careful consideration between the two Governments on how the underlying realities should be addressed and is designed to give impetus and direction to the process of negotiations. The role of the two Governments is crucial because the Northern Ireland conflict is primarily about the wider British or Irish allegiances resolutely cherished by the two communities there. For that reason, there can be no purely internal solution. Innovative thinking and potentially difficult decisions will be required on both sides of the Irish Sea if the two Governments are to create the context and conditions where the conflicting allegiances can at last be reconciled.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“A settlement of the Northern Ireland conflict requires the engagement and cooperation of both Governments and of the political leaders of both communities in Northern Ireland. The close cooperation of the two Governments has been the enabling condition for the progress to date. The Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 and the Joint Declaration of 1993 are landmark documents in that process. Last February we published the New Framework for Agreement, setting out the shared assessment of the two Governments on how a balanced and honourable accommodation could be envisaged across all the key relationships.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“However, only the two Governments and the political leaders in Northern Ireland can consolidate the hope implicit in the cessation of violence by underpinning it with an agreed political settlement which can enjoy the consent and allegiance of all. That is now the paramount goal. In the Joint Declaration of 15 December 1993, the British and Irish Governments acknowledged as their goal “to remove the causes of conflict, to overcome the legacy of history and to heal the divisions which have resulted”. This task can now be addressed free of the polarizing and distorting influences which terrorism, and the countermeasures it calls forth, exert on the political process. It is vital that this unprecedented opportunity should be grasped.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Thankfully, the guns have now been silent in Northern Ireland for the past year. This has brought the gift of peace, and the gift of hope, to a situation where both had been sorely lacking. The gift of peace has been profoundly welcome. The unremitting toll of death and destruction which disfigured Northern Ireland for the past generation has been halted. The economic opportunities offered by peace have rapidly begun to be exploited. Freed from the shadow of terrorism, human contacts have multiplied across the divide in Northern Ireland and between both parts of the island. The paramilitary leaders, through the maintenance of their cease-fires, have made an important first contribution to the climate of hope.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Even as a short-term measure, this imposes a heavy and unfair burden on troop-contributing countries, particularly those which, like Ireland, have fully discharged all their financial obligations to the Organization. If all Member States were to declare here their intentions to pay assessed contributions in full, on time and without conditions, both for peacekeeping and the regular budget, this single commitment would do more than any other to strengthen the United Nations capacity to act effectively. When I spoke last year to the Assembly about the Northern Ireland situation, I stressed the importance of the announcement, a few weeks earlier, of the complete cessation of military operations by the IRA. This was followed, some weeks afterwards, by a similar announcement by representatives of the loyalist paramilitaries.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The Secretary-General has made it very clear to us that the Organization is now facing an unprecedented financial crisis. How can we expect the United Nations to discharge the responsibilities given to it by Member States if the Member States themselves are unwilling to meet their basic obligations under the Charter to provide the necessary resources? Unless urgent steps are taken, what we say here will be no more than empty words. My delegation fully understands the reason why the Secretary-General has found it necessary to take various measures to reduce costs. We support the thrust of his proposals. However, as the European Union has made clear, we view with considerable concern the decision of the Secretary-General, as part of these cost-saving measures, to suspend payment of all troop reimbursement costs.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The Security Council needs to be enlarged in order to increase its effectiveness and its ability to act, both clearly and unambiguously, as the expression of the common will of Member States. Enlargement should enhance the representative character of the Security Council, taking into account the emergence of new economic and political powers as well as the increase in United Nations membership. It should also enhance equitable geographic representation, and it should not diminish the possibility for smaller Member 26 States to serve. Enlargement should take place in both the permanent and non-permanent categories of membership. After two years of discussion we have now reached the point where we should begin to clarify the elements of a balanced solution.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Ireland is deeply committed to stemming the excessive flow of conventional arms worldwide, and we support the objective of a ban on anti-personnel land-mines, which have caused civilian suffering on a huge scale. The elaboration of a United Nations code of conduct on conventional arms transfers, which I have proposed to the Assembly, remains a valuable practical priority in developing greater international controls over the flow of conventional weapons. In conducting its mission and fulfilling its responsibilities under the Charter, the United Nations must also begin a process of institutional reform and renewal. This should begin with the Security Council.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) has been made permanent and its Parties have been made more accountable. Renewed commitments to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament were accepted by all participants at the NPT review and extension Conference. My country looks to all nuclear-weapon States, and in particular the five permanent member States of the Security Council, to keep faith with the spirit and letter of these commitments. We welcome the progress being made in the negotiations for a comprehensive test-ban treaty. Their conclusion next year would be warmly greeted by public opinion in our countries and would facilitate new steps in the field of nuclear disarmament, in particular the successful conclusion of a treaty which would ban the production of fissile materials for weapons purposes.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“How can we explain the fact that, in a world of plenty, one fifth of the world’s population still goes to bed hungry? Earlier this year the World Summit for Social Development agreed on a consensus approach to the development of international norms in the economic, social and related spheres. We now need to act at both the international and the national levels to implement the commitments and consolidate the achievements. In recent years new opportunities have opened up for disarmament; we should now move decisively to grasp them. Never has the continued presence of huge arsenals of mass destruction been so out of step with the hopes and aspirations of the international community. Never has the logic underpinning nuclear deterrence been so much in need of fundamental and critical reassessment. There has been progress in some areas.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Most of the zones of insecurity in the world are to be found in developing countries, and the Charter clearly recognizes that lack of development is one of the root causes of conflict between States. This year is the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Great Famine in Ireland, a catastrophe of enormous proportions, which has had a lasting and searing impact on Irish life. Its memory is still very much alive, and it has reinforced the Irish commitment to the prevention of similar catastrophes in other parts of the world. While many areas of the world, including my own country, have seen great economic and social progress over the past 50 years, the developing world, especially in Africa, has not enjoyed the benefits of this progress.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“As a demonstration of our own national commitment, the Irish Government has this year increased substantially its contribution to the various United Nations voluntary funds in the field of human rights. It is now time for the United Nations to pay more attention to constructing the foundations for peace through development. As part of the process of renewal, we need to work in partnership to pursue a new approach to cooperation for development — a cooperation which redresses the imbalances and has as an objective the realization of sustainable human development for all. Ireland has consistently supported the elaboration of “An Agenda for Development”, and we look forward to a substantive and relevant outcome.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“It is also necessary to devise measures which would extend vigilance and provide early warning of potential situations of human rights abuse. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, supported by human rights monitors, is already playing a 25 key role in meeting this objective. He must be given our full cooperation and adequate financial support. The promotion of the universality of human rights achieved a significant breakthrough with the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. However, our concerns are that implementation will suffer unless there is a significant increase in the proportion of the regular budget devoted to human rights activity.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The case for the establishment of a permanent international criminal court is therefore more obvious than ever before. It is only through such a body that the international community can effectively demonstrate that massive human rights violations will never go unpunished. The international community is attempting to break the pattern of violence in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia by ensuring that those who are guilty of human rights abuses are punished and that minimum standards of accountability are set so as to deter future offenders. We have rightly responded by establishing teams of United Nations human rights monitors as well as ad hoc tribunals to try the perpetrators of war crimes. This is a good beginning.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“On the basis of the recommendations of the Secretary-General, we need to look again at how we can develop the United Nations capacity for preventive diplomacy, early warning and mediation, and for timely intervention in disputes before they escalate out of control. Ireland continues to believe that the task of preventing conflict would also be facilitated by the creation of a mediation body which would work closely with the Secretary-General and the Security Council. The dispatch of special teams of advisers and monitors to areas of crisis and tension should be placed on a more assured and regular basis than in the past. I believe that a small investment here would be amply and quickly repaid. There is a growing acceptance that violations of humanitarian law are a threat to international peace and security.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The United Nations should benefit from the support of regional organizations, as the Charter envisages, but should not in doing so relinquish its overall control and responsibility. My delegation shares the concerns which the Secretary-General has expressed about the safety of United Nations personnel in the field. We would like to see the United Nations Convention on the safety and security of United Nations personnel enter into force as soon as possible. Our concern extends to all personnel who find themselves in dangerous situations, including humanitarian experts working with non-governmental organizations, who are frequently the first to arrive in the field in the early, and often most dangerous, stages of an emergency.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“In Ireland we are actively exploring the possibility of bringing together a humanitarian liaison group comprising experts from a wide range of fields which could be deployed at short notice when emergencies occur. Command and control of United Nations operations also needs to be improved. Greater attention needs to be paid to ensuring that the distinction between peace-keeping and peace enforcement is not blurred in devising mandates for operations, if the confidence and willingness of troop- contributing countries to continue providing troops is to be maintained. Regional organizations can also play a valuable role in support of United Nations peace-keeping activities. It is of course essential that such organizations in carrying out their role do so strictly in accordance with the mandate which the Security Council has laid down.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“There are a number of ways in which the management and conduct of peace-keeping operations must be improved. Perhaps most urgent is the need to improve the response capability of the United Nations in dealing with sudden or complex emergencies. Important initiatives have already been taken in this regard with the development of the United Nations stand-by arrangements system. Such arrangements might perhaps be extended to other areas to ensure that a full range of humanitarian, logistical and civil defence as well as military options is available to the United Nations in dealing with the many crises which it is called upon to address.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“24 One of the many bitter lessons that we have to draw from recent experience in Rwanda and Bosnia is that the traditional deployment of peace-keeping units is no longer, on its own, a sufficient response to the type of crises which we face. In the past, peace-keeping operations were primarily concerned with policing cease-fires between Member States, pending diplomatic efforts to resolve the substantive political issues. That, unfortunately, is no longer the case: 11 of the 13 operations established since 1991 have involved internal conflicts. Peace-keeping contingents increasingly find themselves operating in situations where government and civil order have broken down. There are no longer clear points of reference for such operations which have become politically and logistically more complex, and financially more onerous.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“It is against this background that we the Member States must revitalize the United Nations in its mission and equip it with the means to react with vigour and determination to the new crises which constantly arise. This means improving the response to humanitarian emergencies. But it also means tackling more effectively their root causes, poverty and deprivation, preventing conflicts before they arise, and more quickly containing and resolving them when they do. The Secretary-General’s Agenda for Peace and Agenda for Development are landmark documents that set out clear priorities and a programme for action.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“In contemporary warfare, more than 90 per cent of the casualties are non-combatants who are often directly targeted because of their ethnic or religious affiliations. Children, like women, are especially vulnerable. During the last decade, nearly 2 million children have died in wars and more than 5 million have been forced into refugee camps. More children die in wars than soldiers. At the present time throughout the world there are almost 30 million refugees and displaced persons in need of assistance. In the Great Lakes region of Africa, as the refugee nightmare deepens, we require urgent and concerted action to avert any danger of new tragedies. The scale of all these problems has already stretched to the limits our ability to respond, and has heightened the problem of United Nations credibility.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We may ask, what of the recent past? The United Nations has seen great recent achievements — in Mozambique, in Cambodia, in Haiti, in El Salvador, to take some examples. The peoples of those countries can bear witness to new hopes for a better and more secure future. In other local and regional conflicts, however, the United Nations experience, in the face of extraordinarily complex and painful circumstances, has seen serious setbacks. The human misery resulting from the wars in former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Somalia has shocked the world. Almost 50 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration, human rights violations remain a major widespread problem. With a resurgence of regional conflict and ethnic tensions in many parts of the world, we have been confronted with virtually every imaginable human rights abuse.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The United Nations has a remarkable record on which to build: it has enshrined the universal obligation of respect for law and good conduct between States as the centre-piece of international relations; it served in numerous ways during the long years of the cold war to dull the edge of great-Power rivalry and reduce the dangers of global confrontation; it provided an indispensable framework for the negotiation of crucial arms-control agreements which hold the promise of a world free of weapons of mass destruction; it facilitated the process of decolonization and helped bring about the dismantling of apartheid; it prevented numerous conflicts through its peace-keeping operations and restored stability to many parts of the world; it set the basic international standards for human rights and monitors their observance; it has sustained efforts to eliminate poverty, alleviate distress and deprivation, and improve the health and living standards of millions of the world’s most vulnerable citizens.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Many of the shortcomings for which the Organization is frequently criticized have more to do with a flagging of the collective will to demonstrate the determination, generosity, courage and tolerance to live up to the obligations of the Charter. The Charter remains the bedrock for what lies ahead, as it has been for all that has been achieved over those 50 years.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The fiftieth anniversary coincides with a more critical attitude towards the United Nations in many countries. There is a growing readiness to highlight shortcomings and failures rather than the longer-term record of real and substantial success. We cannot ignore this criticism, particularly when it comes from many who are ordinarily the strongest advocates of the United Nations. The United Nations, like any other organization, can only benefit from rigorous examination and adaptation. But no organization can of itself provide wholesale remedies for removing the hatred, the fear, the distrust and the divisions in the world.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The finalization of the comprehensive test-ban treaty early next year remains an absolute imperative. The President of the General Assembly is taking office at an exceptional time in the history of the United 23 Nations. Next month the Heads of State or Government will meet here in special session to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Organization. The General Assembly, inspired by this anniversary, should mark a decisive new phase for the United Nations. The world faces a daunting array of new problems which require the United Nations to adapt and revitalize its resources. The representative of Spain, Foreign Minister Solana, speaking on behalf of the European Union, set out these challenges in his speech here yesterday to this Assembly. Ireland associates itself fully with these remarks.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The second issue to which I must refer is the resumption of nuclear testing by the French and Chinese Governments. It would be wrong if I were to address this gathering and ignore decisions that have — almost literally — sent shock waves around the world. We in Ireland, confronted as we are by the ever-present anxiety posed by ageing nuclear facilities on our neighbouring island, have had many occasions over the years to know the worry caused by the potential of nuclear power. The great majority of the Irish people, therefore, easily understand and share the deep concern of the peoples of the South Pacific. Nor can we fail to recognize the dismay and dejection caused by the resumption of nuclear testing in the immediate aftermath of the successful outcome of the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review and Extension Conference.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The Fourth World Conference on Women, held earlier this month in Beijing, addressed these and other issues of relevance to women. The Declaration and the Platform adopted by the Conference pose a major challenge to Governments and the international community to overcome the obstacles which continue to face women around the world. They also represent a solemn commitment by Governments and the whole United Nations system to take all necessary measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and to remove all obstacles to gender equality and the advancement and empowerment of women. On behalf of the Irish Government I pledge here that we will do everything in our power to ensure that this commitment is honoured and implemented.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“No system based on a universal commitment to human rights can survive if the rights of women are not seen as an integral factor in the equation. Women suffer disproportionately from the effects of war and armed conflict, whether it be as casualties from land-mines or as the victims of systematic rape. Women and children form the great majority of the more than 1 billion people living in poverty around the world today. Women in most societies are prevented from participating fully in the decision-making processes and have unequal access to power. Women continue to be prevented from fully exercising their sexual and reproductive rights, including the newly recognized right to have control over, and decide freely and responsibly on, matters related to their sexuality, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We in Ireland will continue to play our part in supporting the peace process, together with our partners in the European Union. In the same spirit, we warmly welcome the agreement reached yesterday in New York, which we all hope will lay the foundation for a lasting peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and throughout the region. If I choose to highlight two issues at the very beginning of my remarks, Sir, you will understand, I am sure, that it is because these two issues have created such a resonance around the world. The first issue to which I refer is the Fourth World Conference on Women. Ireland stands committed to the principle that human rights are indivisible — the rights of one are the rights of all.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“I warmly congratulate the President on his election to preside over the fiftieth session of the General Assembly. We take confidence from the fact that his experience and distinction will be available to guide us in our deliberations at this historic session. I am especially pleased to extend my congratulations to the representative of a country with which we have the closest and most friendly relations as a fellow member of the European Union. I wish at the outset to congratulate the parties to the latest peace accord in the Middle East, which will be signed in Washington tomorrow. It has required great statesmanship, courage and perseverance on the part of Palestinian and Israeli leaders alike to reach this agreement.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“I am convinced that unless we act in a broad and imaginative way, bringing together the political, peace-keeping, development and human-rights instruments of the United Nations, we will prove inadequate to the great contemporary challenges. We now have an opportunity such as has not existed for a generation. I urge all of us to grasp it.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Next year’s Conference to review and extend the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons provides an opportunity to address these issues. Ireland wants to see an indefinite extension of the Treaty. We want to see the principles on which the Treaty is founded maintained; the non-proliferation regime strengthened; all States becoming members; and progress made towards the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, as envisaged in the Treaty. The agenda for United Nations reform is formidable - for the Organization itself and for the States that make up this Assembly. But whatever the difficulties, reform is a vital and urgent necessity.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The lives of millions of people have been put at risk and large areas rendered unsafe as a result of the indiscriminate use of land-mines. Since last year many Governments have introduced moratoriums on the export of anti-personnel mines. I welcome President Clinton’s call for an agreement to reduce the number and availability of these mines. I welcome also the very considerable progress made in the reduction of nuclear arsenals and towards a comprehensive test-ban treaty. The threat of nuclear conflict between the major Powers no longer overshadows our daily lives. But there is disturbing evidence that some States still want to acquire a nuclear-weapon capability. Their ability to do so is helped by the growth in the world’s stocks of fissile materials and in personnel with the requisite technological skills.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“At the global level, the volume of trade in major conventional weapons has declined in recent years. But 19 in some regions large stockpiles have accumulated. In others the arms trade continues to grow. There is a need for States to exercise greater responsibility and restraint in their arms transfers. Already the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms has led to greater transparency. But I believe that we should now go further. That is why Ireland has proposed that the United Nations elaborate a code of conduct for conventional arms transfers which would set out common principles to be observed in this area. It is my hope that the General Assembly will now decide that work on such a code should be put in hand.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The truth is that the agenda for development and the "Agenda for Peace" are complementary. They are different sides of the same coin, and we must make progress on both if we are to reach our common goals of peace and prosperity. What has been called a "culture of development" must extend beyond the provision of financial assistance to embrace economic progress, the environment, social justice, democracy and good governance. At next year’s World Social Summit and at the Conference on Women we can build on the progress already made in the Conferences on Environment and on Population. The tragedy of war and civil strife underlines the need to address more seriously the question of disarmament. The easy availability of arms contributes, not just to the scale of the carnage and suffering in conflict, but to the outbreak of conflict itself.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“If we fail to do this, we will have failed to learn the lessons of Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and we will, of course, risk their repetition. Our efforts to deal with war and civil strife cannot ignore what the "Agenda for Peace" has described as the root causes of conflict: economic despair, social injustice and political oppression. Maintaining the peace is impossible in an unequal world. Conversely, development is the most secure basis for peace. It can be no coincidence that Rwanda and Somalia are among the least developed countries of the world. Thus, when the Secretary-General himself tells us that development is in crisis, we are compelled to listen, and we are compelled to agree with him that an alternative to the United Nations in development simply does not exist.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“There is a clear need to put in place an effective system of monitoring and adjudicating human rights violations. One important step would be to develop a standing team of human rights monitors reporting to the High Commissioner for Human Rights. This would make it easier to integrate human rights action into peace- keeping operations, and the mandate for peace-keeping operations could include a human rights dimension with clearly established reporting and verification procedures. In addition, we should move now on the establishment of a permanent international criminal court. The United Nations must demonstrate that it has the will to bring to justice those responsible for crimes against humanity, summary executions, torture, rape and mutilation.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The cost of peacekeeping will always be less than the cost of war. There could be no better way to mark the fiftieth anniversary than to address once and for all this most critical constraint on peacekeeping operations. As our understanding of civil strife develops, we are coming to see the vital role that action in the area of human rights can play in helping to prevent and resolve conflict. The value of integrating peace-keeping and human rights has proved its worth in Cambodia, in El Salvador and elsewhere, but our approach has been piecemeal and tentative. Even in Rwanda we still await an adequate deployment of human rights monitors. Resources will have to be found for this activity. For its part, Ireland intends to contribute to the voluntary fund for Rwanda established by the High Commissioner for Human Rights.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The Secretary-General has pointed to the difficulty in finding personnel for the many new demands on United Nations peace-keeping. Recent experience has shown that a Security Council mandate no longer ensures that an operation will soon take place. I can think of nothing more serious or more damaging than the failure of the Organization quickly to mount an operation at the outbreak of a crisis. The crisis itself escalates out of control, the credibility of the United Nations is called into question and the authority of the Security Council is undermined. We must act to ensure that operations are properly resourced, that troop contributors can take decisions on participation, secure in the knowledge that they will be adequately funded, and that there is greater consultation between the Council and troop contributions.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“I believe that such a body, drawing on the pool of personnel skilled in mediation, backed by effective staff and properly resourced, could rapidly acquire an expertise 18 and authority that would significantly enhance the peacemaking capabilities of the United Nations. The United Nations is now conducting more peace- keeping operations and has more personnel in the field than at any time in its history. Ireland is participating in many of these operations and devotes a significant proportion of its defence forces, and of its defence expenditure, to United Nations peace-keeping. That is one reason why my Government is particularly concerned at the under-funding of peace-keeping operations and at the failure of certain Member States to pay their assessed contributions. But there is a deeper and more important reason.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The Security Council and the General Assembly, despite their undoubted authority under the Charter, are not always the most suitable instruments for the direct mediation of conflict. In practice, the Secretary-General has on many occasions appointed a representative to mediate in particular crises, often with considerable success. I believe that the time has come to put these arrangements on a more organized basis. This could be done by constituting a mediation body to which the Security Council or the Assembly could refer difficult issues. Acting in consultation with the Secretary-General, this body would be distinct from the International Court of Justice, in that it would have the role of political mediation rather than that of pronouncing a verdict in terms of international law.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)