Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern T.D., responds to Seanad Private Member's Motion on Irish Foreign Policy

Motion: "That Seanad Eireann recognises the success of the Government in maintaining and developing a foreign policy based on the values of the Irish people which also protects and promotes Irish national interests."

I welcome the opportunity to set out the principles that underlie our foreign policy.  I believe that any objective judge of that policy would affirm that in its conception and execution it is indeed an ethical one, based firmly on the values of the Irish people and serving their interests.

Ethics is a system of moral principles.  It deals with judgements as to what constitutes good conduct and bad conduct.  But one also has to distinguish between intentions and outcomes. 

I make this point because having good intentions is not enough.  We live in the real world and we must, to the best of our ability, try to anticipate the outcome of our actions. 

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Are we likely to make things better or worse?  How do we maximise the chances of our good intentions having the desired effect?   

Posing such questions does not mean surrendering to what is called the “realist” school of foreign policy, where simple, narrow self-interest dictates a state’s actions - far from it. 

But it is to say that an ethical foreign policy is best advanced by an awareness of the environment in which we operate. 

I believe that Ireland has been successful in utilising its knowledge of the international system and its ability to operate in the multilateral context to advance our principles and values.

What are those principles and values?

Foreign policy, like all our national policies, is based on the foundation laid out in Bunreacht na Éireann. 

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Article 5 defines what Ireland is: “a sovereign, independent, democratic state”.

Article 29 on Ireland’s International Relations sets out the principles guiding our relations with other states.  There we affirm our devotion to the ideal of peace and friendly cooperation among nations founded on international justice and morality.  We affirm our adherence to the pacific resolution of disputes by international arbitration or judicial determination.  We accept the principles of international law in the conduct of relations between states.

Aside from its articulation of the principles underlying relations between states, Bunreacht na Éireann affirms in Article 40 a series of rights that pertain to the individual which it terms personal rights.  We would today call them human rights. 

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Since 1937 of course a body of international law on human rights has developed and Ireland has striven to ensure their universal application.  

Alongside support for the United Nations and international law, successive governments have pursued a policy of military neutrality.  The State has chosen not to enter into military alliances or a mutual defence pact with other countries.  Indeed, the amendment of the Constitution in 2002 to allow for the ratification of the Nice Treaty precludes Ireland joining any EU common defence unless the people decide otherwise. 

Every dispatch of a contingent of the Defence Forces abroad – whether UN, EU or NATO led - is a sovereign decision of the Irish Government, and is subject to the requirements of the so-called ‘triple-lock’ of Government decision, Dáil approval and UN authorisation. 

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If the origins of our policy of military neutrality lie in our history as a state and in the particular circumstances of partition, it has evolved as a key feature of our foreign relations.  It has acquired particular value for the Irish people as an expression of our ethical views on the use of military forces – that the deployment of military forces should be undertaken only within the framework of the UN Charter and with the approval of the United Nations itself.

That Ireland should articulate these principles and rights in our Constitution and legislation is no surprise given our history.  As a small nation that fought against a larger one for its freedom, we value the principles of democracy, the rule of international law, collective security and the universal application of human rights.  And we recognise that a world which as far as possible is organised on these lines is in the interests of small countries in particular.

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The expression of these principles and values – ethics if you will - can only take place within a multilateral framework.  That framework is provided by the United Nations.  Ireland fully, indeed profoundly supports the principles and values set out in the Charter of the United Nations.   

Indeed while I was personally honoured to act as one of the Secretary General’s envoys in support of the UN reform process, I fully appreciated that being asked to undertake this role reflected the high standing of Ireland at the UN over many years and under many Governments.

Acting within the parameters set out in the Charter assures us of the ethical intent of the military actions undertaken on behalf of the international community by the United Nations.  Ireland’s long standing support for UN peacekeeping is one of the most tangible expression of our principles and values in foreign relations. 

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Since our first UN peacekeeping mission in 1958, our troops have performed over 55,000 tours of duty on some 60 UN peace support operations worldwide.  Defence Forces personnel have served throughout the world, notably in the Middle East, Africa, the Former Yugoslavia and East Timor.  Irish lives have been lost in this service: to date 85 members of the Defence Forces have given their lives in the cause of world peace.

The United Nations of course is not the only multilateral framework available as means for Ireland to give expression to its principles and ideals.  

As a founder member of the Council of Europe, Ireland has consistently supported and encouraged its activities to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law.  We attached particular importance to its promotion of human rights. 

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The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms remains the essential reference point for the protection of human rights in Ireland and indeed in Europe as a whole.

Ireland was also a founder member of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and is a keen supporter of its programmes on arms control, preventive diplomacy, human rights and election monitoring.

The European Union itself has also provided us with a platform to shape the international environment through the Common Foreign and Security Policy.  The essential objectives of the CFSP very much reflect Ireland’s own values.  Europe has learned in its own history the bitter lessons of conflict and mutual aggression and in its approach to the wider world seeks to use its weight in a constructive and peaceful way. 

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While naturally decision-making in the CFSP involves compromise, I am absolutely satisfied that we have a much greater capacity to influence events within the Union than outside – and that our influence serves to mould an honourable and essentially ethical policy.

One key example of how we have utilised the multilateral framework in pursuit of the common good is our engagement with the issue of nuclear weapons.  Ireland has sought to address this global challenge since we first joined the United Nations in the 1950’s.   Frank Aiken, the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, introduced a resolution in the UN General Assembly that eventually led to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) a decade later.  It has become the most universal of all international instruments in the disarmament and non proliferation area and remains the framework for further progress on this issue.

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Its Article 6 contains the only multilateral legally binding commitment from the Nuclear weapon-States to nuclear disarmament.

Today Ireland is in the vanguard of efforts to reinvigorate the NPT.  I was gratified that the new Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, has also highlighted the importance of addressing the issue weapons of mass destruction as a continuing threat to world peace and security.

We have taken a similarly vigorous approach to the codification and implementation of human rights norms. We believe profoundly in their universality.  They are central to our foreign policy.  Ireland has ratified the six core United Nations human rights Conventions and regularly submits reports to the United Nations human rights mechanisms, on the measures undertaken to implement these Conventions.  

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Later this week, in New York, Ireland will sign up to the two most recently adopted United Nations instruments, the UN Convention on the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  Ireland played an active role in the negotiations leading to these conventions and fully supported their adoption, which represents a further strengthening of the international human rights framework.

Active participation in multilateral organisations such as the EU, UN and the Council of Europe provides an opportunity for Ireland to voice its concerns regarding human rights abuses.  Through these organisations, international pressure can be brought to bear on those responsible for human rights violations.

Some have suggested that the Government has not met its own standards of human rights in relation to allegations of extraordinary rendition through Ireland. 

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These allegations have no basis in fact.  There is no question of prisoners having been transferred through Irish airports as part of an extraordinary rendition operation. The Government has received explicit assurances in this regard from the US authorities, which they have declined to provide to other European governments.

Even the recent European Parliament report on extraordinary rendition is clear on this fact: nowhere does it allege that prisoners might have transited through Ireland.  Besides, the Government and I personally, have taken a lead in actively raising the issue of extraordinary rendition with the US authorities and at EU level and we are continuing to do so.

Moreover, as friends, we have never been in any way unwilling or hesitant to convey very clear views to the US on, for instance, the treatment of prisoners, be it at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, or elsewhere.

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There can be no clearer example of our belief in the essential value and necessity of human rights, and in our willingness to advocate them, than in our support for action on the crisis in Darfur.

The UN Human Rights Council held a Special Session in December 2006 to consider the urgent human rights situation there.  Ireland, along with our EU partners, was instrumental in calling for this Special Session.   Sudan subsequently refused admission to the Council’s High Level Mission and this refusal is being considered at the current session of the Council. Most recently, Minister Lenihan highlighted the situation in Darfur in his speech to the 4^th session of the Council.

Ireland has also been to the fore in responding to the deeply worrying events in Zimbabwe.  The arrest again today of Opposition Leader Morgan Tsvangirai is a cause for alarm. 

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Given his treatment at the hands of the authorities earlier this month, we must be concerned about his human rights and his physical safety. 

I join my EU colleagues in holding the Government of Zimbabwe responsible for his safety. On behalf of the Irish Government I call for his immediate and unconditional release and that of his colleagues.

However our concerns about his arrest do not stop there.  His arrest and the actions of the authorities raise fundamental questions about President Mugabe’s respect for basic democratic norms, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law. 

A policy of suppression and intimidation of lawful opposition can only make the situation there more unstable. 

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The deteriorating economic, social, and political situation needs to be urgently addressed through dialogue, between government and society, not presidential dictate.

I call on the Zimbabwean Government to change course, respect the rule of law and respond to the clear suffering of its people. 

The meeting of the Southern African Development Community this week is a timely opportunity to address the situation.  I urge the regional leaders to use their influence to halt the descent toward a political and humanitarian disaster. 

Our approach to Darfur –or to Zimbabwe, or to Burma -  is not motivated by any strategic economic or political interests.  It is driven by our belief that the international community must respond to humanitarian crises and political oppression and that in doing so we must invoke the universal standards of human rights. 

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We must point to their grievous absence and measure progress by their application and enforcement.

Aside from peacekeeping, perhaps the most tangible example of the ethical basis of our approach to foreign relations is our commitment to overseas aid.   Irish Aid, with its focus on Africa and poverty reduction, is an expression of the values and interest of the Irish people in helping the world’s poor.    By 2009, our aid is likely to reach € 1 billion.  In 2012 Ireland will reach the UN ODA target of 0.7% of Gross National Income. This year spending will exceed 0.5% of GNI, putting us in the vanguard of donors. 

We spend this money because, as the Taoiseach writes in the foreword to the White Paper on Irish Aid, “….Ireland can rightly claim to empathise with those who are suffering from disease, poverty and hunger every day around the globe.  But empathy is not enough. 

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“Our actions must speak louder than our words….Our aid programme is a practical expression of the values that help define what it means to be Irish at the beginning of the 21^st Century.”

As our aid programme illustrates, the values that inform and motivate our foreign policy are not static.  Though based on firm foundations, they are dynamic and evolving, responding to the changing circumstances of the world we find ourselves in. 

The establishment of the Rapid Response Initiative is another example of this dynamism.  The Initiative aims to improve and enhance Ireland’s ability to respond to humanitarian disasters. 

Similarly, the creation of the Conflict Resolution Unit will allow Ireland to play a more active role in international conflict prevention and resolution, building on and utilising the very substantial success of the Northern Ireland peace process. 

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In the context of our expanding aid programme, both initiatives will improve our capacity to become a model United Nations member.

In conception and operation then, as I have outlined here, I believe that Ireland’s foreign policy is ethical by the high standards and ideals we have set ourselves and by the engagements and actions we have undertaken within the multilateral framework of the United Nations and Europe. 

Through our commitments and actions we have sought, I believe successfully to give expression to the values and interests of the Irish people. 

This Government has built on the endeavours of previous governments and earlier generations to ensure that Ireland can not only maintain its place with pride among the nations of the world but shape that world in the name of universal values and the common good.