Statement by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern T.D., to the General Debate at the 58th General Assembly of the UN. New York (2)

terrorism. We owe it to the victims of September 11, and to all the

victims of terrorist atrocities before and since. The measures put in

place by the Security Council have made it more difficult for international

terrorist networks to organise and to finance their activities. These

organisations, however, do not stand still. We must remain vigilant and

redouble our efforts to make it impossible for the agents of international

terror to operate.

In doing so, however, we must be clear that the need to act against

terrorism offers no license for action contrary to the UN Charter, or

against the body of international human rights and humanitarian law that we

have so painstakingly constructed.

We must also seek to deal with the causes of terrorism. Terrorism is not

some kind of original sin. No child is born a terrorist. At some point in

their lives, some people become terrorists. We have to identify how and

why.

If we find that young people are being indoctrinated into terrorism, we

have to deal with those who seek to incite hatred and terror. If we find

that they act, however wrongly, in reaction to real or perceived injustice,

we have to confront this fact and, as far as is possible, seek to eliminate

the reality or perception of this injustice. To seek to understand the

causes of terrorism should not be misunderstood as being soft on terrorism.

On the contrary, it is an essential step in its elimination. I can speak

from experience of developments in my own country.

Mr. President,

The Government and people of Afghanistan face important challenges in the

coming year, in particular the adoption of a constitution and the holding

of national elections. Severe difficulties stand in the way, especially

the precarious security situation. The sustained and wholehearted support

of the international community is required if Afghanistan is to recover

from its long ordeal. For Ireland's part, it has delivered on its pledges

to the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

In Africa, encouraging progress has been made in the past year towards the

resolution of some long-standing and intractable conflicts. We urge the

parties to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to

implement the commitments that they have entered into. Neighbouring states

must abide by their commitments, and their obligation, not to interfere in

the DRC.

Sierra Leone remains on track, with the help of the United Nations, towards

a future of peaceful development.

Progress has been achieved in Liberia. I wish to pay tribute to the

efforts of those member states that have contributed to this positive

development. Their continued engagement, along with the United Nations,

will be indispensable in helping the people of Liberia to consolidate what

has been achieved and to build peace in their country. I am pleased to

confirm that my government in the next few days will recommend to our

Parliament that Ireland's Defence Forces participate with a sizable

contingent in the forthcoming United Nations peacekeeping operation in

Liberia.

Mr. President,

Respect for human rights is an essential foundation for peace and security.

Lack of respect for human rights is at the root of many conflicts, internal

and international. The promotion of human rights is rightly the concern

of the international community as a whole. It must remain a central task

of the United Nations, and must be integrated into all of the UN's

activities.

There is no room for complacency. We must all recognise that no country,

including our own, is perfect. We can all do better.

I pay tribute to the many brave individuals around the world ? defenders of

human rights - who risk discrimination, imprisonment or worse to ensure

that governments live up to their human rights obligations.

The establishment of the International Criminal Court was a clear signal of

the determination of the international community to bring to justice those

who perpetrate genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Ireland,

together with its partners in the European Union, will continue to offer

firm support to the ICC, as its work gets under way. I urge those who

have not signed or ratified the Rome Statute to do so, and I urge all

states to adhere firmly to the principles on which it is based.

Mr. President,

The peace process in Northern Ireland remains a major priority of the Irish

Government.

Regrettably, due to diminishing trust between the political parties, the

devolved political institutions in Northern Ireland were suspended nearly

one year ago. Since then, we have been working to re-establish the trust

and confidence necessary to restore and sustain these institutions.

This involves both ensuring that all vestiges of paramilitary activity are

consigned to the past and that all parties commit themselves to the full

and stable operation of the democratic institutions of the Good Friday

Agreement. Following intensive negotiations, we came tantalisingly close in

April to making the required breakthrough but unfortunately did not get

matters fully resolved at that time.

After one of the most peaceful summers on the streets of Northern Ireland,

the process is now entering another decisive phase of challenge and

opportunity. Developments over the next few weeks will have a crucial

bearing on whether elections ? which I believe should take place before the

end of the year ? will be held in an atmosphere that is conducive to

forming a working administration on the other side of the polling date.

For this to happen, all of the pro-Agreement parties must show leadership

and courage; must face up to their responsibilities and take the decisions

they know are right; and must stretch their constituencies so that they can

reach out to others. As partners in this process, Prime Minister Blair and

I ? and our two Governments ? are working closely together to support and

encourage all of those political and community leaders who are taking risks

for peace.

From other areas around the world struggling to escape from a legacy of

violence, we in Ireland know all too well that a process of conflict

resolution cannot rest still. Either it continues to move forward or it

loses momentum and direction and falters. To complacently assume that

current opportunities for progress can be deferred until a more politically

convenient moment is both wrong and dangerous. In the case of Northern

Ireland, the moment of opportunity is now and it is my hope that in the

weeks and months ahead all of the parties who subscribed to the Good Friday

Agreement will collectively rise to that challenge.

Mr. President,

Poverty and insecurity go hand in hand. The efforts of the United Nations

to promote international peace and security must be closely aligned with

its work in tackling the root causes of poverty.

When I launched the UN Human Development Report in Dublin last July, I

noted how powerful a reminder it was that the world was becoming a more

unequal place. Fifty- four countries, according to the Report, the great

majority in Africa, were poorer now than they were in 1990. A world where

over 1.2 billion people continue to live on less than a dollar a day, where

14 million children are orphaned because of HIV/AIDS, where women in the

poorest countries are 175 times more likely to die in childbirth than in

rich countries, is inherently unjust, and hence insecure.

At the UN Special Session on HIV/AIDS in 2001, I said Ireland would

increase its contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS by an additional

$30 million per year. Our spending on HIV/AIDS programmes in 2002 exceeded

$40 million, a ten-fold increase over the past three years.

The Millennium Declaration called for a global partnership for development,

and as in any partnership, there are responsibilities on all sides.

Undertakings on Official Development Assistance, on debt relief, and on

governance must be achieved. We must be rigorous in assessing our

progress, as we are committed to do, in 2005.

At the Millennium Summit, I committed Ireland to reaching the UN target for

Official Development Assistance of 0.7 per cent of GNP by 2007. Since

then, Ireland has increased its ODA to 0.41 per cent, and remains committed

to reaching the target by 2007.

Mr. President,

Fair and open international trade is essential for global peace and

prosperity. It is an integral part of the multilateral system that we are

pledged to protect.

I regret that it did not prove possible to reach agreement at the recent

WTO talks in Cancún. I understand the frustration of those who consider

themselves unfairly treated in global markets. But if we turn our back on

the multilateral trading system, and allow trade and investment to be

diverted and distorted by bilateral and regional arrangements, we will

damage, perhaps irreparably, the best tool available to us to make serious

inroads into poverty and to raise standards of living on a global basis..

Let us redouble our efforts to achieve an agreement that offers fair market

access and at the same time allows all of us preserve the essence of our

rural culture and environment.

Mr. President,

The past year might have been a difficult one for the United Nations but

events have demonstrated that, for the people of the world, it is the

indispensable organisation at the centre of our system of collective

security. We have invested it with unique legitimacy and unique authority.

People around the world look to it in hope and expectation.

Let us work together to make sure that the United Nations is an

organisation worthy of the ideals enshrined in its Charter; worthy of the

trust of those who rely on it for help and protection; worthy of the

idealism and dedication of those who work for it, and of the sacrifice of

those who have given their lives in its service.

As the Secretary -General made clear when he addressed this General

Assembly: we are at a fork in the road. Let us be sure to take the right

road.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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