Every day, the peoples of
the world whom we are privileged to represent in the
General Assembly look on in helpless horror at the
slaughter in Syria. They can see gassed children lined
out, dead, on their television screens. They can access
online the facts about the 100,000 Syrians who have
been killed; the 4 million who have been displaced;
and the 2 million or more who have been driven into
refugee camps in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
The peoples who have sent us, Government leaders
and diplomats, to speak for them in this Hall are
asking, “Why can we not stop this slaughter and this
suffering?” They see the conflict in real time. It is not
taking place in a remote part of the planet. Its brutality
is made more visible by modern technology. The utterly
callous attack in Ghouta on 21 August marked a new
low in the endless litany of horrors.
From the very outset, Ireland has consistently
argued that the United Nations and the Security Council
must be central to any efforts to resolve the crisis and
ensure that international law and basic human rights
are upheld. And while it has taken much longer than we
would all have wished, I welcome the decisive action
the Security Council has now taken on Syria.
Security Council resolution 2118 (2013) marks a
watershed in the international community’s engagement
on the crisis. It offers renewed hope and confidence
that the United Nations is capable of discharging
its responsibilities and meeting the aspirations and
expectations of the peoples of the world. The resolution
builds on the vital breakthrough achieved by the United
States and Russia in agreeing to a framework for the
complete elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons. Full
compliance by the Syrian regime with its obligations
is imperative. Ireland has already pledged €200,000 in
funding to support the vital role of the Organization for
the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, assisted by the
United Nations, in implementing those arrangements.
Crucially, the Security Council has called for
the early convening of an international conference to
address all aspects of the conflict. The inescapable
reality is that the crisis can be resolved only politically,
not militarily. I am greatly encouraged by the
indications that the “Geneva II” conference could be
held within a matter of weeks. Peace can come only
through all Syrians engaging in a genuinely inclusive
process aimed at agreeing a new political dispensation
in their country.
The Security Council has expressed its conviction
that there must also be accountability for what has
occurred in Syria. The International Criminal Court
exists precisely for that purpose. We owe it to the Syrian
people to ensure that those responsible for the war
crimes committed against them are brought to justice.
There is also an urgent need to remove impediments
to the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Violence
against civilians must cease. All parties must facilitate
unimpeded access to people in need throughout Syria
and guarantee the safety and security of humanitarian
personnel who perform their duties at enormous
personal risk.
The humanitarian efforts being made by Syria’s
neighbours, including Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon,
are remarkable and deserve far more support from the
international community. We should not underestimate
the strain being imposed on those countries and the
threats being posed to refugee populations. Ireland has
contributed $15 million to the humanitarian operation,
and we stand ready to do more within our means.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, we also see the
prospect of progress. In Ireland, we know what it takes
to make peace after a protracted conflict. I want to
acknowledge the work being done in the current direct
talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators,
which all who wish for peace must welcome. I want
to commend in particular the determination and
engagement of United States Secretary of State John
Kerry, who has done so much to bring that about, and
the leadership of President Abbas and Prime Minister
Netanyahu, who have had to accept difficult choices to
begin the process of negotiation. We all know, and they
know, that many more difficult choices lie before them
if they are to succeed and to secure a comprehensive
peace settlement. They deserve all our support.
We are also encouraged by the stated determination
of the new Iranian Government to address the
concerns of the international community and build
confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its
nuclear programme. We look forward to Iran’s serious
engagement in meaningful negotiations, leading to full
compliance with all of its international obligations, and
hope that that will also contribute to the creation of a
positive dynamic in the Middle East region.
Ireland currently participates in seven United
Nations peacekeeping missions, including each of
the three missions in the Middle East. In response to
a request of the Secretary-General, we are deploying
Irish personnel to reinforce the United Nations
Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on the Golan
Heights. We are doing so to help ensure that UNDOF
can continue to implement its mandate at a difficult
time. Ireland’s deployment to that challenging mission
is a signal of our deep commitment to the peacekeeping
role of the United Nations. The Irish people are rightly
proud of these soldiers and of the record of our Defence
Forces, members of our police service and Irish civilians
deployed in the cause of peace.
I join other speakers at this rostrum in condemning
the recent attack in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, which
left dozens of innocent people dead and almost 200
injured. It was a chilling reminder that well-organized
and ruthless international terrorist groups and networks
are constantly searching for new locations and targets
for atrocities. My profound sympathy and that of the
people of Ireland go out to the victims of the attack and
their families. We must be vigilant against terror and
resolute in refusing to compromise our values in the
face of such threats.
Many factors contribute to human suffering.
Violent conflict, such as that in Syria, is one — and
the toll of casualties there is escalating daily. But there
are many parts of the world where underdevelopment,
malnutrition and disease exact an even greater toll.
Around the globe, 870 million people — almost 200
times the entire population of Ireland — are living in
extreme poverty and hunger. Every single day, 18,000
children die needlessly from preventable causes in the
poorest and least developed regions of the world; 7,000
of them are children under the age of 5, who die because
they are undernourished. One in every four children is
stunted, most of them in the poorest countries. And
every day, 800 women die because of complications
during pregnancy and childbirth, for basic reasons that
could have been prevented.
Reversing those trends and creating a better future
for the countless millions of impoverished people on
our planet is, perhaps, the greatest moral and practical
challenge we face today. We can, of course, draw
inspiration and hope from our successes. And there
have been successes. Thirteen years ago, at the United
Nations, world leaders committed to taking tangible,
measurable action to tackle global poverty. Huge
progress has been made since then under the framework
of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Significant numbers of people have been lifted out of
poverty. Millions of children are receiving primary
education. Two billion people have access to improved
water supplies, and HIV/AIDS and other diseases and
pandemics are being tackled.
Nevertheless, fresh global challenges, such as
climate change, are beginning to undermine the
progress made. Communities in developing countries
that have contributed least to the causes of climate
change are suffering most from its effects. That is
an injustice — clear and simple. It is a matter of
fundamental human rights and equity. And it is critical
for the future of all of our children, in a world which is
reaching the limits of environmental sustainability, that
this injustice be reversed.
I had the privilege of taking part in this week’s
special event on the Millennium Development Goals
and co-chairing one of the round-table sessions.
Ireland is proud to have co-facilitated the special event
with South Africa and to have achieved an outcome
document that will guide negotiations over the next two
years on completing the MDGs and crafting the post-
2015 development agenda.
I believe that when world leaders gather at the
United Nations in 2015, we can and should be ready
to adopt a new set of global goals aimed at achieving a
sustainable, just and secure world for the future. I want
to see a clear commitment to ending extreme poverty
and hunger in a generation. I want to see specific
commitments in relation to the empowerment of women
and girls. And I want to see an integrated approach on
climate change and a strong focus on climate-sensitive
agriculture.
In our own aid programme, my Government
has prioritized hunger and malnutrition, a theme
that resonates with Ireland’s own history. We have
a very simple message about the vital importance of
investment in nutrition for mothers and babies. We
are leading supporters of the Scaling Up Nutrition
movement, and we are committed to doubling our aid
spending on nutrition by 2016.
Ireland is today emerging from several years of an
economic crisis that will soon be behind us. After many
tough decisions and a lot of hard work, we are about
to safely exit an international bailout and our economy
is back on track. I am proud to say that despite the
extremely difficult circumstances many Irish people
find themselves in, we have sustained our commitment
to the provision of development aid. I know that we are
ready to play our part in a new global partnership, and
that it is only through this body, the United Nations,
that it can be achieved.
It is a matter of great pride to my country that
Ireland was last year elected for the first time to the
Human Rights Council. I warmly thank the Member
States for their support in the election and the
confidence they have placed in us. Ireland played a lead
role in the adoption of two important resolutions by the
Human Rights Council this week — one on preventable
mortality of children under five; the other recognizing
the important role played by civil society at the local,
national, regional and international levels.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
adopted by the Assembly states that recognition of the
inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights
of all members of the human family is the foundation of
freedom, justice and peace in the world. It also states that
those human rights should be protected in law. Today,
instead of offering protection, we increasingly see
legal measures being adopted to discriminate against
people on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender
identity. I welcome the courageous leadership shown
by the Secretary-General when he promised in April to
lead a global campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender rights. Ireland pledges its full support to
the efforts of the Secretary-General, both here in the
General Assembly and in the Human Rights Council.
Ireland is a small State that is deeply committed to
the United Nations and to the principles enshrined in
its Charter. We are proud to contribute to the important
efforts of the United Nations in peacekeeping, in conflict
resolution, in development aid and in humanitarian
action. There can be no doubt that the United Nations
is the unique and indispensable forum where the
peoples of the world share their collective concerns and
determine to take action to make the world a better and
a safer place.
The membership of this Organization has
conferred primary responsibility for the maintenance
of international peace and security on the Security
Council. Accordingly, we look to the Council to
show leadership in response to international crises.
Membership of the Council is a privilege for any State,
and Ireland has been honoured to serve on it on a
number of occasions.
But the permanent members of the Security
Council have a special responsibility to work together
in a way that enables the United Nations to live up
to the commitments made in its Charter. When the
United Nations fails, or delays action, we are all the
poorer for such setbacks. But when the United Nations
works, we can achieve great things together. And
those successes, such as the definition of a post-2015
development agenda, should serve as an inspiration
and a springboard for the international community’s
responses to the other great challenges of our time.