Geraldine Byrne Nason, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations and Security Council addresses the Security Council meeting on Non-proliferation June 30, 2021. (Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe)
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
UNITED NATIONS – NEW YORK – IRELAND officially took over as President of the UN Security Council Wednesday for the month of September with a focus on peacekeeping transitions, non-proliferation, climate change and security. Geraldine Byrne Nason, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations and president of the Security Council for September, laid out the Council’s programme of work for the month during a press briefing with reporters at UN headquarters in New York. Ireland will convene a ministerial-level open debate on peacekeeping transitions. Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, will chair the meeting. UN Secretary-General António Guterres, former President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and a civil society representative are the anticipated briefers. A resolution on peacekeeping transitions is a possible outcome of the meeting. There will also be an open debate on climate change and security, which will be chaired by Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin. Secretary-General António Guterres and a civil society representative are expected to brief. As its third signature event, Ireland will convene a briefing on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to mark the 25th anniversary of the opening for signature of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, will chair the meeting. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu is expected to brief. Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) Robert Floyd and a civil society representative may also brief the Council.
Today Ireland begins a new role on the #SecurityCouncil:
🇺🇳President for the month of September!🇺🇳
Learn more about our presidency from #TeamIreland👇 #IrelandUNSC 🇮🇪 @dfatirl pic.twitter.com/G8ZYg5dmU2
— Ireland at UN (@irishmissionun) September 1, 2021
“I am very proud to be the first Irish woman Permanent Representative to ever sit as President of the UN Security Council. This is a huge responsibility. The last time Ireland sat in the presidential chair was 20 years ago. We plan to listen as well as to lead. Women, peace and security will be a thread running through our presidency. Women being in the room at the table is where we belong”
-Geraldine Byrne Nason, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations
Nason joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1982. She was Director for Governance at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris in the 1990s. She has served at the UN in New York, Vienna, Geneva, and Helsinki. Nason served as Second Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach from 2011 until 2014, making her the highest ranking female civil servant in the country. In August 2014, Nason was appointed Ireland’s Ambassador to France and Monaco. In August 2017, Nason was appointed as Ireland’s permanent representative to the UN in New York by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, replacing David Donoghue. Nason was tasked with trying to secure Ireland a seat on the UN Security Council in 2020, which was successful.
Geraldine Byrne Nason, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations and President of the Security Council for the month of September, briefs reporters on the programme of work for the Security Council at UN world headquarters in New York Sept. 01, 2021. (Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider)
As President of the Security Council, Ireland will also confront some key immediate challenges facing the international community, including the evolving situation in Afghanistan, and an ongoing concerning situation in the Middle East.
The Council will convene for its monthly meeting on the “Middle East, including the Palestinian Question”. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland is expected to brief. Several African issues will also be discussed in September. Council members are expected to vote on a resolution renewing the mandate of the UN Support Mission for Libya (UNSMIL) ahead of its 15 September expiry. On Sudan, there will be an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on the UN Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS). The Council will convene for an open briefing, followed by closed consultations, on the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). Special Representative and head of UNMISS Nicholas Haysom is expected to brief. An OCHA official and a civil society representative my also brief. Council members will also be closely following developments related to Haiti, the Tigray region of Ethiopia and Myanmar. They may choose to convene meetings on these and other issues.
IRELAND Believes Multilateralism Is The Key To Solving The Global Challenges World Faces
“Ireland has always engaged with the UN in a serious and substantive way. It is an inherent part of who we are. It informs how we act globally and it shapes our international outlook – our belief in Empathy, Partnership and Independence. Ireland’s candidature for election to the Security Council for the 2021–2022 term will further deepen our UN engagement.”
-Ireland United Nations Security Council Campaign statement in 2020.
