Ireland’s commitment to UN peacekeeping was reaffirmed today by the Minister for Foreign Affairs to officers at the Curragh Military College.
But Mr Cowen said questions on whether Ireland’s neutrality will continue to be relevant in the 21st century would be answered with an emphatic ‘yes’.
The EU’s operational procedures on peacekeeping and crisis management were outlined under the Amsterdam Treaty.Mr Cowen said today that the EU Headline Goal in this regard is not a standing army, but rather is similar to the UN’s Standby Arrangements System (UNSAS).
UNSAS, in which Ireland participates, is a system to coordinate the peacekeeping contributions of 88 countries and around 150,000 personnel.
Mr Cowen said the Government was in full agreement with the recent UN Report on Peacekeeping Reform which recommended that the UN’s rapid deployment capacity be strengthened and police should be made more available for peacekeeping duties. The Minister is due to meet UN Secretary General Mr Kofi Annan next month.
Stressing the Government’s commitment to neutrality, Mr Cowen said Ireland’s involvement in European Security and Defence Police was consistent with policy.
"Our voluntary commitment to the EU Headline Goal is fully consistent with Ireland’s approach to overseas peacekeeping and our foreign policy traditions", he said.