The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, has welcomed the agreement reached on a programme for reform of the United Nations which is to be laid before world leaders when they gather today for the United Nations summit in New York.
The compromise 35-page document aims to launch a major reform of the United Nations itself and galvanise efforts to ease global poverty.
The Minister, who acted as an Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for his programme for change, said:
"The agreement reached has vindicated Kofi Annan's approach, which was based on the close linkages between development, security and human rights, and on the need for a strengthened United Nations to address them in an integrated way.
After bitter negotiations over the last few weeks, nearly every bold initiative suffered cutbacks in the final 38-page document approved by the General Assembly yesterday for endorsement at the summit.
"Of course, the agreement does not include everything that Ireland and many other countries would have wished to see.
I share in particular the Secretary-General's disappointment that it contains nothing on disarmament and non-proliferation, nor on the need to strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," Mr Ahern said.
"Nonetheless, we have reaffirmed some key commitments on development, climate change and HIV/AIDS, as well as setting a course on a major agenda for change.
We have agreed that the UN must improve its performance on human rights, and decided to establish a Human Rights Council.
"We will create a Peacebuilding Commission to help states emerging from conflict.
We are committed to reaching agreement on means to control the deadly trade in small arms and light weapons.
"The successful implementation of the change agenda will be a major priority
for Ireland over the coming months."