The safety of Irish personnel on UN duties is of paramount concern to the Government, the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms ile de Valera, told the general assembly of the European Organisation of Military Associations in Ennis.
She said military and civilian personnel engaged in UN duties were doing vitally important work and deserved international protection against the illegal use of force and deliberate attacks on them. Ireland had co-sponsored a resolution to establish a Convention on the Safety of the United Nations and Associated Personnel. She told the five-day conference: "The Government has already signalled its intention of signing and ratifying this convention at an early date and intends to bring forward the necessary enabling legislation as soon as possible."
She said that since 1958 more than 43,000 members of the Defence Forces and Garda Siochana had served with distinction as UN peacekeepers. Given the unique role and authority of the United Nations and the fact that its peacekeeping activities had proved an important element in containing conflict, the Government was committed to sustaining the overall level of Ireland's contribution to peacekeeping.
The Minister, who was addressing the assembly on behalf of the Minister for Defence, Mr Andrews, said Irish people were justly proud of the commitment and professionalism of our peacekeepers and the high regard in which they were held internationally.