Ireland is taking up its seat at the United Nations Security Council from today.
Last June the country secured one of two available seats in a vote, beating off competition from Canada.
Ireland will also serve as Presidency of the Council in September of this year.
Today, Ireland becomes a member of the UN Security Council 🇺🇳🇮🇪
📽️Minister @SimonCoveney explains how Ireland will contribute to the UN Security Council’s mandate to promote and maintain international peace and security🕊️#IrelandUNSC pic.twitter.com/vqFHazukep
— Irish Foreign Ministry (@dfatirl) January 1, 2021
Speaking earlier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said:
“This is a great honour and a great responsibility for Ireland. The members of the UN have entrusted this country with the task of supporting and promoting international peace and security."
"We will act fairly and independently."
"By its very nature, the agenda of the Security Council includes many critical, complex, and disputed issues."
"We will bring careful judgement, our core values and our lived experience of overcoming conflict onour island to our work and to our decision-making on the Security Council.”
Ireland will engage constructively across the full range of issues discussed by the Council on the basis of three principles: Building Peace, Strengthening Conflict Prevention, and Ensuring Accountability.
