IF THE UN requests it, the Government will consider sending Irish soldiers to serve in a UN peacekeeping force in Zaire, writes Catherine Cleary.
The Tanaiste, Mr Spring, speaking to reporters in Damascus, said the Government would "certainly look to our responsibilities". "We have never been slow in the past when it came to either humanitarian or peace keeping," he added, "and it certainly would receive consideration from the Government."
He said it was important to decide on the type of mission the UN would send. "In this situation it's not just a humanitarian mission. You have to look to the security of those involved, the aid workers, the NGOs and ultimately the security of the troops. That is what people are trying to figure out."
He did not accept the argument that the UN had ignored the simmering crisis for two years.
He said the news of the Rwandan government's request for help with humanitarian aid was a welcome development. He said the same invitation was "not forthcoming a number of days ago" and that led to complications on the ground.
The UN security council had met in the last 24 hours to discuss the crisis and the EU had sent development ministers on a mission to the area.
The effectiveness of the UN as an organisation was a larger question, Mr Spring said, as it was "virtually bankrupt". Without the financial help of the Canadians the UN would not have been able to send a special envoy to the area.
Reuter adds: The UN Secretary General, Dr Boutros Boutros Ghali, made a new appeal yesterday for immediate world intervention to help refugees in Zaire, saying thousands were dying with every hour that passed.
"I make a new appeal to the members of the United Nations, to men and women of good will, to non governmental organisations, to intervene today," Dr Boutros Ghali said in a statement during a stopover in Paris on his way to the World Food Summit in Rome.