The Government's two-year, £1.2 million campaign for a seat on the UN Security Council will be stepped up a gear today with the beginning of an intensive lobby among the member-states by the Taoiseach, who is scheduled to address the Millennium Summit at UN headquarters this afternoon.
The three-day summit is believed to be the largest gathering of world leaders ever held. President Clinton is due to make the opening address this morning and there will be speeches from about 160 other heads of state or government; because of the number of speakers, contributions will be restricted to five minutes each.
Prior to his departure for New York, the Taoiseach said the summit was "a unique opportunity for each member-state to recommit to the founding principles of the UN Charter and to revitalise and reform the UN so that it can work effectively to the benefit of ordinary people throughout the world".
Mr Ahern is due to give a longer and more detailed address on Ireland's place in the world to the Foreign Policy Association in New York on Friday. His speeches may have an impact on the Security Council campaign, where Ireland is competing against Norway and Italy for one of two seats held by the Western European and Other Group of States. Norway is considered the strongest candidate, with Ireland and Italy apparently neck-and-neck. The vote is by secret ballot, which is likely to be held in mid-October.
There are 15 seats on the Security Council, which has primary responsibility under the UN Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security. The council has the power, when other means have failed or are considered inappropriate, to dispatch UN peacekeeping forces to troubled areas of the world. It can also impose economic sanctions on behalf of the international community.
If elected, Ireland would serve a two-year term which would place it at the heart of world affairs and could involve difficult and critical decisions from time to time. Ireland was previously a member in 1981-82 during the Falklands/Malvinas war and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The presidency of the Security Council rotates among the members on a monthly basis.
There are five permanent members of the Security Council, consisting of the five victorious powers in the second World War - the US, Russia, China, Britain and France. Each of the five has a veto on substantive issues, e.g., military action and the application of sanctions.
Observers speculate that Ireland could possibly win the support of a majority of the permanent members. However, each vote carries the same weight and the Taoiseach will be meeting great and small nations as part of his lobby effort. Bilaterals have been arranged with Nigeria, St Kitts and Nevis, Georgia, Micronesia, Slovakia and Hungary, among others. Mr Ahern returns to Dublin on Friday but will be followed next week by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, who arrives to address the General Assembly and take part in the Security Council campaign. A special unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin has been working on the campaign since 1998.
Security was tight in the vicinity of the UN building on the East River as world leaders arrived for the summit. At least 90 protests are planned and four Iranians were arrested at the weekend following an incident in which yellow paint was thrown at the limousine of President Mohammed Khatami of Iran.
Mr Clinton will be using the occasion to boost the Middle East peace process. He is to hold separate meetings with the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr Ehud Barak, and the Palestinian President, Mr Yasser Arafat, in Waldorf Astoria hotel this afternoon and the possibility of a trilateral meeting has not been ruled out.
Mr Clinton is thought to be extremely eager to end his presidency with a Middle East settlement, but the main sticking-point continues to be disputed claims over Jerusalem and its holy sites. The talks have acquired greater urgency with the announcement that the Palestinians may declare statehood on September 13th but there are indications this date could be put back.
Despite the presence of many major world figures, much of the publicity and attention may go instead to the person described in one newspaper as "The Missing Leader", namely the elected head of government in Burma and holder of the Nobel Peace Prize, Aung San Suu Kyi, believed to be effectively under house arrest by the military regime which has refused to let her take office. In an editorial headed "The Missing Leader", the Washington Post wrote: "Her plight represents, among other things, a failure on the part of the international community that will be celebrating itself with such fanfare at the United Nations."