ANNAN MEETING: The Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of State for Development Aid will meet Mr Kofi Annan, in Dublin this evening to discuss Third World aid.
Mr Ahern and Mr Conor Lenihan will brief the UN Secretary-General on how and when the Government's commitment to the UN target of 0.7 per cent GNP for overseas aid will now be reached.
"We will be in striking distance of the 0.7 per cent in the calendar year 2007," Mr Lenihan told The Irish Times last night. He had previously admitted the original 2007 target would not be met.
At the UN Millennium Summit four years ago, when Ireland was campaigning for election to the Security Council, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, committed the Government to achieving the UN goal by the end of 2007.
The rate of progress towards the target has slowed down, however. Government sources have sought to excuse this on the grounds that high growth rates meant the money involved was greater than expected. It had been apparent for some time that the political will to meet the 2007 target was absent.
Meanwhile yesterday, Mr Annan made an implicit plea to the Government to implement its commitment although he did not specify a timetable. Responding to questions and comments from delegates to the Forum on Europe in Dublin Castle, Mr Annan said Ireland's commitment to the UN target was "an important one" for achieving the Millennium Development Goals on poverty, disease and underdevelopment.
Achieving the aid target would, "send a message to other countries that are in a position to make that kind of contribution". He realised it "very much depends on national legislatures and I would urge all of them to try and honour the commitment".
He noted: "This was a commitment entered into voluntarily and I hope governments will honour this commitment because it will make a difference in the lives of millions of people."
Also speaking at the forum, the Minister for Foreign Affairs reiterated the Government's aim to achieve the target but did not specify a date. Several speakers highlighted the importance of reaching the recommended UN level of aid.
On peace and security, Mr Annan said "prevention is always better". The UN did not claim a monopoly over crisis resolution or settlement.
"Under the Charter in Chapter VIII the regional organisations have a role to play and in some situations they are much closer to the problems and they can do better than we can".
On the issue of the EU battlegroups, he said that if the Security Council took a decision and mandated an operation in Sudan, "we may sometimes need a force that can go in very quickly in situations where people are at risk, to try and contain the problem" until a UN force took over but he pointed out that this was "a theoretical situation".