I move:
That Dáil Éireann, noting the imminence of military action by a United States led coalition against Iraq:
– reaffirms Ireland's commitment to the United Nations as the guarantor of collective global security and as the appropriate forum for the resolution of disputes threatening international peace and security;
– condemns the continued refusal of the Government of Iraq over a period of 12 years to comply with its obligation to disarm as imposed by numerous resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, most recently in Resolution 1441;
– recalls that Resolution 1441 found Iraq in material breach of its obligations under relevant resolutions, afforded Iraq a final opportunity to comply with these obligations and recalled the Security Council's repeated warnings that Iraq would face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations of its obligations;
– expresses its deep regret that efforts within the Security Council to reach agreement on how to address the question of Iraqi non-compliance have failed;
– recalls Ireland's statement as a member of the Security Council on the adoption of Resolution 1441 that it would be for the Security Council to decide on any ensuing action in the event of further Iraqi non-compliance;
– regrets that the coalition finds it necessary to launch the campaign in the absence of agreement on a further resolution, notwithstanding the claims of the coalition to be acting on the basis of an existing Security Council mandate;
– endorses the decision of the Government that Ireland will not participate in the coalition's proposed military action against Iraq;
– expresses its earnest hope that military action, should it occur, will be of short duration and that loss of life and destruction will be kept to a minimum;
– declares its commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Iraq;
– calls on all parties to any conflict to respect the provisions of international humanitarian law, in particular, the Geneva Conventions;
– welcomes the stated intention of the coalition to act swiftly to address the food and humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people;
– welcomes the arrangements put in place by the Government to ensure that Ireland will be able to contribute rapidly to the humanitarian effort in Iraq;
– calls on the United Nations to assume a central role in securing the humanitarian needs of the Iraqi people and the reconstruction of Iraq in which Ireland will play its full part;
– recalls the long-standing arrangements for the overflight and landing in Ireland of US military and civilian aircraft; and
– supports the decision of the Government to maintain those arrangements.
I requested you, a Cheann Comhairle, to recall the Dáil so the House can consider the serious deterioration in the international situation regarding Iraq. Since my request was made, war has commenced and I can only hope and pray, as do all Deputies, that the war will be concluded quickly and that the Iraqi people will be liberated from their present circumstances. They must be allowed to rebuild their country and determine their future as a sovereign people. Hopefully, this war will not last long and they will be able to do that.
The Government, like the overwhelming majority of people in Ireland and around the world, had hoped that we would never reach this point. We are dismayed that efforts to secure Iraq's disarmament by peaceful means have failed. People are asking how we have arrived at this situation. Why did diplomacy fail? Why was it necessary to resort to military force? Why could the Security Council not agree? Why was the European Union so deeply divided? The answers are far from simple and I will not be able to deal with all of them today.
One thing, however, is clear. Conflict could have been avoided if Saddam Hussein had complied with the long-standing demands of the UN Security Council that Iraq surrender its weapons of mass destruction. The simple fact is that he refused to do so.
No credible commentator would dispute the fact that Iraq is ruled by an evil and cruel military dictatorship. It is a regime which tolerates no dissent and no protest. It has engaged in territorial aggression and genocide against its own people. I will not list all the wrongdoings of this regime but will limit myself to its defiance of the United Nations.
Saddam Hussein refused to comply with 17 Security Council resolutions over 12 years. He forced his people to suffer the effects of economic sanctions rather than meet his obligations under the UN Charter. While the members of the council, including Ireland, worked to ameliorate the effects of the sanctions, Saddam sought to obstruct the oil for food programme and used the suffering of Iraqi children as a propaganda tool against sanctions. He defied every effort to disarm him peacefully. In 1998, he broke his agreement with Kofi Annan to meet his disarmament obligations and threw out the weapons inspectors.
He allowed them to return last year, following the adoption of Resolution 1441, only in the face of a credible threat of military force. However, despite the clear indication by the Security Council that he was being given a final opportunity to disarm, he continued with his old ways. Since then he has played a skilful game of cat and mouse. He has done just enough to encourage those who wanted to believe that he might comply peacefully but never enough to demonstrate a clear and unambiguous commitment to disarmament, as the United Nations repeatedly demanded. He has miscalculated, and not for the first time. Tragically, the long-suffering Iraqi people will once again be obliged to pay the price for his lack of judgment. Let us hope that this will be the last time they have to do so. He has not only caused suffering to his own people, he has also, by his ongoing defiance, served to undermine the authority of the UN Security Council.
Like the overwhelming majority of countries in the United Nations, Ireland has no mighty armed forces to protect its interests. We are not a member of a military alliance. We look to the United Nations as the guarantor of our collective peace and security. Ireland wants to see a strong and effective United Nations. We want a United Nations which is united in purpose as well as in name. We want a United Nations that is respected. We need a Security Council which is capable and willing to ensure that its resolutions are fully implemented.
On New Year's Eve last, Ireland completed its two-year term on the Security Council. We did our utmost to ensure that the Security Council discharged its mandate to maintain international peace and security. The attacks of 11 September 2001 demonstrated that the world had entered into a new and dangerous era. The optimistic suggestion put forward in the aftermath of the Cold War, that we had reached the end of history, proved to be seriously premature. Instead, we realised that deep and mutating hatreds had travelled with us into the 21st century.
Two particular threats have emerged. The first is from ruthless and determined terrorists, who represent no state and who operate from bases in unstable countries. Ireland used its position on the Security Council to urge a multi-dimensional response to this phenomenon. We supported the immediate need for a strong security approach: fighting the terrorists directly through military and police action, breaking up the terrorists logistical support channels, and cutting off their finance. We also urged that action be taken to tackle the root causes of conflict: intolerance, poverty, and the denial of rights and freedoms.
The second emerging threat to international peace and security is from the spread of weapons of mass destruction. What is particularly alarming about these new threats to international peace and security is the possibility that they will intersect. Terrorists might acquire from weak and unstable regimes their own weapons of mass destruction. This would enable them to inflict untold death and injury on those who find themselves the focus of their hatred.
The Iraqi regime has a proven record of seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction. It has shown a willingness to use such weapons against its enemies and even against its own people. It has defeated all efforts to make sure that it surrenders these weapons. It has shown a willingness, given the opportunity, to strike directly against US targets.
On 8 November 2002, the Security Council, of which Ireland was a member, agreed unanimously to adopt Resolution 1441. This resolution found Iraq in material breach of successive UN resolutions and gave its regime a final opportunity to meet its disarmament obligations.
During the period leading up to the adoption of Resolution 1441, Ireland worked discreetly but effectively to encourage consensus in the Council. We encouraged members to work from a single text and to refuse support for any course of action which looked likely to cause division in the Council. The outcome was a vindication of our constructive approach.
As Head of Government of one of the members of the Security Council which worked for many weeks to achieve the adoption of Resolution 1441, I say quite emphatically that Resolution 1441 was clearly intended as a final chance resolution. Serious consequences were threatened in the event of continued non-compliance. The point at issue, at the time, was whether the decision to resort to force was to be taken by the Council or whether it was open to member states to act on the basis of existing resolutions. The Council reached a compromise whereby it decided to convene immediately upon a report of Iraqi obstruction and non-compliance "in order to consider the situation and the need for full compliance with all of the relevant Council resolutions in order to secure international peace and security".
Ireland made its position clear in the Security Council, immediately after the vote. We said it was for the UN Security Council to determine what action should be taken in the event of continued Iraqi non-compliance. Other members of the Council, including most notably the United States, stated their view that a second resolution was not a precondition for military action. They pointed to their strong conviction that there was an outstanding mandate for the use of force based on previous resolutions. They were not willing to bind themselves to the obligation of waiting for a future resolution which, in their view, might unreasonably be denied.
There is no clear legal consensus on whether such a mandate exists. The arguments advanced by the coalition are supported by a number of countries which are not participating in military action. Ireland, however, cannot participate in a military campaign without an explicit, further UN mandate.
I regret that Ireland's term on the Security Council concluded at the end of last year and that we were consequently unable to assist in the efforts to implement Resolution 1441. I do not know whether we could have helped resolve the divisions which emerged—