Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said yesterday he was "deeply honoured" to be appointed one of four Special Envoys for UN Reform by secretary general Kofi Annan.
"I will do my best to fulfil the important mandate the secretarygeneral has given me, and to justify his confidence," Mr Ahern said in a statement.
"This appointment is a measure of Ireland's long-standing commitment to the UN and the esteem it enjoys in all sectors of the membership."
He had accepted "this onerous mandate" because the UN had long been a "corner-stone" of Ireland's foreign policy.
"I believe the secretary general's proposals form an excellent basis for agreement at September's summit and I will be proud to act as an advocate for them and for a strengthened and enhanced UN system."
The appointment of Mr Ahern is seen as a reflection of Ireland's standing at the UN, particularly in the eyes of the secretary general. In an interview with The Irish Times prior to visiting Dublin last October, Mr Annan described Ireland as one of the "model members" of the world organisation. He said Ireland's diplomatic skills were "very good" and, at the UN level, "you do punch above your weight"
At a meeting with Mr Annan in UN headquarters in New York last February, Mr Ahern offered Ireland's active support for moves to reform the world body. He said afterwards that the secretary general was "very positively disposed to our initiative and our offer".
The Minister was due to visit the Middle East this week, although, perhaps anticipating the UN appointment, this was not officially announced. His schedule was expected to include Bahrain, for today's talks between the EU and the Gulf Co-operation Council; Egypt; Israel and the Palestinian territories. His new UN role meant a change of schedule to allow him to depart for New York yesterday to hold discussions with the UN Secretariat and meet the president of the General Assembly, Jean Ping. He returns on Thursday.
Speaking to journalists at Government Buildings, Mr Ahern said that, "Basically, I will be the eyes and ears of Kofi Annan in western and eastern Europe - 45 states - between now and September." He would be liaising with the capitals and political leaders of those countries on "the UN reform package" which was due to be considered and "hopefully" finalised by all 191 UN member-states in September.
But he added: "Obviously I have to keep an eye on the home base as well." He had "made it clear" to Mr Annan and his officials that he would continue to be "very heavily involved" in the peace process and they had accepted that.
He would not be "a negotiator as such" and would not be urging, for example, that a particular formula for expansion of the Security Council should be accepted. "I'll basically be trying to whittle down what the issues are."
He would not be promoting Ireland's position, as such, which was one of pressing for participation by small states in the Security Council "into the future".
A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said there would be "a support mechanism put in place" for the Minister's new responsibilities but no new staff would be hired. Much of the "logistical" support would be coming from the UN Secretariat.