Ireland's Proposal to Join the UN Security Council

Dear United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, I would first and foremost like to thank you for entertaining my countries proposal to become a permanent sitting member of the United Nations Security Council. The United Nations leads an invaluable expedition to attain peace and international security throughout the world. On behalf of the people of the Republic of Ireland, I can assure you that we honor our membership by maintaining goals, policies and values that serve only to promote this mission. Ireland has always been famed for its neutrality in times of war, its freedom of press, expression and civil liberties, and it has been a strong proponent of the UN’s promotion of universal standards for human rights. This memo will consist of but a small amount of Ireland’s many qualifications in regards to attaining this peacekeeping position in the UNSC. The memo will also consist of Ireland’s historical background and its current characteristics that deem it worthy of a permanent seat on the UNSC.

There are five substantive reasons that Ireland should be considered for a permanent seat in the UNSC, and they are as follows:

• Top 15 global freedom of press ranking
• Low expenditures on military
• Exceptional levels of human development
• Membership in the European Union
• Advocacy of UN specialized peacekeeping agencies

There are many countries throughout the world that are very oppressive when it comes to the freedoms of their native news media. Some countries are even more hostile to journalists who enter their borders from other states. These countries are infringing upon the UN’s universally recognized civil liberty of freedom of press. Ireland is certainly not one of those countries. In fact, Ireland ranks #11 globally in the Reporters Without Borders report on freedom of press. At #11, Ireland actually has a higher freedom of press ranking than any current member of the UNSC, excluding New Zealand. Ireland also has no recorded “abuses” toward journalists, which cannot be said for any current UNSC member except for the United Kingdom. This comparison in ranking between Ireland and the permanent members of the UNSC can be seen below.

Another example of Ireland’s peacekeeping policies is the countries low expenditures towards its military. Ireland has only budgeted about $440 million U.S dollars to fund the maintenance and expansion of its standing army for the year 2015. This is a miniscule amount compared to the tens of billions of dollars that each permanent member of the UNSC has budgeted for their militaries. My country of Ireland has historically taken positions of neutrality when it comes to war, and Ireland’s minor military spending only serves as more evidence of our preference of peaceful resolve over force and military action.

My country also excels in human development which is one of the focal points of the United Nations’ mission. Based on Ireland’s life expectancy at birth (80.71 years), mean years of schooling (11.61 years), expected years of schooling (18.6 years) and gross national income per capita ($42,918.61), the country has earned an outstanding global ranking on its “Human Development Index” as calculated by the UN itself. Ranked #11 globally with an HDI index of .899 Ireland has shown very high levels of human development that are either equal or higher than those of the permanent members of the UNSC. Ireland has also shown steady growth and maintenance of its HDI throughout the past 25 years. The data is shown below.

It is also notable that Ireland is a member of the European Union. In addition to being a member of the United Nations, Ireland also takes part in the EU’s mission to foster economic cooperation and conflict resolution in Europe. Ireland has 11 members in the European Parliament and although it is not one of the most influential countries in the EU, much of Ireland’s policies, practices and economic gains have stemmed from its entrance into the European Union. Ireland is not only striving for peace on a global level through the UN, but it is also putting specific efforts towards peace within its own region.

Ireland has always been loyal to the United Nations and its cause. Not only has Ireland been a member of the UN since 1955, it has also served as an elected member of the UNSC in the years 1962, 1981-82 and 2001-02. If measuring loyalty in years of service is not enough, my countries support for several of the UN’s special agencies should be of more validation. Ireland has been active in the Commission on Human Rights, the World Health Organization, and the UN Development Program. Also, as it may be indicated by its low level of military spending, Ireland has always been an advocate for the limitation of arms and nuclear weapons. Ireland has shown continuous support for the UN and a permanent seat in the UNSC will only heighten our capacity for creating peace throughout the world.

Historical Background of Ireland

Ireland’s history showcases some the most prominent stories of the effects of colonization, religious divides and internal conflicts. But, since World War II Ireland has made many positive developments in resolving these conflicts and becoming a peaceful and diplomatic country.

Ireland had always been in conflict with the United Kingdom as the UK had had a stranglehold on the Irish government for centuries. As one of Britain’s first colonies, Ireland underwent many years of civil war and rebellion before it finally was able to declare its absolute independence from the United Kingdom in 1949. Since that time, Ireland has been a proponent of peace and anti-war cooperation. Northern Ireland on the other hand (which is technically part of the United Kingdom) has continued to fight its own government and religious battles with the UK.

As Ireland declared its independence the constitution labeled the country the Republic of Ireland. Ireland adopted a democratic parliament system of government. Within this government there are four main political parties, Fianna Fail (moderate),Fine Gael (right wing), Labor party (left wing)andSinn Fein (left wing). There is also a small population of independent politicians. All citizens 18 and older can vote and the parliament is elected by proportional representation. This form of proportional representation allows for a highly democratic representation of the population as citizens use a ranking system to vote instead of simply voting yes on one candidate. This electorate system allows for a better representation of minority viewpoints as well. This is one of Ireland’s many modern developments that reflect the countries respect for political rights and representation of its citizens.[i]

Ireland has also faced (and is still facing) a historically prominent religious divide in the country. In 2011 over 84% of people in Ireland were counted to be practicing Catholicism. This great saturation of Catholics has been a problem throughout Ireland’s history because much of the occupants from the United Kingdom practiced protestant religions. The Irish’s distain for the British occupancy brought about a negative attitude towards individuals who practiced protestant religions throughout Ireland, regardless of their country of origin. During the course of the 20^th century the majority of protestant’s moved to Northern Ireland where there was a larger acceptance and practice of protestant faith because of its ownership by the United Kingdom. Although there has been little diversity in religious practices in Ireland, the state adheres to its constitutional guarantee to allow the freedom of religion to its citizens.

Power and Security Interests of Ireland

The military power of Ireland is very limited, but this is by choice of the Irish government and the Constitution of Ireland. Ireland’s Constitution outlines firm commitments to cooperation over force and decisions made based on morality. Ireland is famed for its neutrality regarding military situations and the country focuses its efforts more on humanitarian projects and support for peacekeeping operations. Economically, Ireland also has limited power.

The Irish military is known as the Defense Forces which consists of an Army, Air Corps, Naval Service and Reserve Defense Forces. The army is the only division of the Defense Forces that is actually used with militant means, but the armies primary missions are typically peacekeeping missions and humanitarian deployments. The Irish Defense Force is called the Defense Force because the only military action that they budget and expand for is the defense of Ireland, not battles abroad.

The Army consists of the foot soldiers for the Defense Forces. As the Irish rarely deploy troops for wartime efforts, the tasks of the Defense Force Army typically involve cash and prisoner escorts, bomb diffusing squads and in some cases they provide security for prisons. Army soldiers are also deployed for use in natural disaster relief or weather crisis.

The Air Corps is labeled so because it does not have enough militant artillery to be considered an air force. The Air Corps typically aids the Army with supplies or over-sees transport missions undergone by the Army. But the more common use for the Air Corps is mostly for internal utilization. The Air Corps patrols fisheries, transports VIP’s and also acts as an emergency ambulance system.

The Naval Service just like the Air Corps does not have enough militant force to be considered a standing navy. The Naval Service is responsible for things like general air security and surveillance, regulation of ports, fisheries, drugs and also search and rescue operations. The Naval Service also acts as suppliers for overseas peace keeping missions, and occasionally will facilitate visits to other countries to promote trade and diplomacy.

Ireland also has a Defense Force Reserve. Much like any other countries “reserves” the Defense Force Reserves are a number of soldiers that are held out of operations until called upon or in case of emergency.

As shown by Ireland’s lack of militant force it is no surprise that Ireland spends a significantly smaller amount of its GDP on military maintenance and expansion than the permanent members of the UNSC. The expenditures among these countries can be seen below.

In regards to Ireland’s economy Ireland has a gross domestic product of over $232 billion dollars which ranks 45^th globally. Ireland holds 13,313 votes or 0.53% of the total votes in the International Monetary Fund. Although these numbers appear to lack significant impact on the global trade world, having a top 50 ranked GDP is still a notable statistic and Ireland has made immense economic growth within the past 30 years.

Ireland’s Liberalist Approaches in the Modern World

Ireland is one of the world’s most involved countries in regards to human rights, liberties and freedoms and these universal standards are carried out in the countries governance. Ireland is one of the world leaders in freedoms all across the board including civil liberties, freedom of the press and political rights. Ireland has either equal or higher rankings than the permanent members of the UNSC in freedoms.

As stated before, Ireland has been involved in many of the UN’s peacekeeping operations and is involved in several of the UN’s special agencies. Ireland has also signed several treaties with the United Nations Treaty Series. Just a few of the UN special agencies that Ireland supports include:

• UN High Commission for Refugees
• UN Developmental Program
• International Labor Organization
• World Health Organization
• Commission on Human Rights

In addition to supporting these UN special agencies, Ireland is also a member in several International Organizations that promote human rights, economic cooperation and the global liberal agenda.

• Bank for International Settlements
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
• Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• World Bank
• Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• World Trade Organization (WTO)

Ireland has also participated in signing of the statutes and treaties for global governance, including 16 UN treaties for human rights. The Irish have signed global statutes for political rights, anti-discrimination, women’s rights, prevention of cruel and inhumane punishments, etc. For example:

• International Criminal Court (Signed 7 October 1998)
• International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Signed in 1968)
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Signed in 1976)

[i] Notes

1. The following sources were used in the preparing of this report: Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index 2015, World Bank (data.worldbank.org), Global Security (globalsecurity.org), UNDP Human Development Reports (hdr.undp.org), Ireland in The World (www.ireland-information.com), United Nations Security Council (www.un.org), Defense Budget by Country (www.globalfirepower.com), International Human Development Indicators 2014 (hdr.undp.org), Facts About Irish Politics (www.dohara.com), Freedom in the World, (freedomhouse.org), Ireland Demographics Profile (www.indexmundi.com), United Nations Human Rights (indicators.ohchr.org), James Rae (Lecture Notes)