By Pat Flanagan
Mirror (Ireland)August 8, 2000
Ireland could become a powerful force at the United Nations if voted on to the Security Council in New York later this year.
Senior diplomats are predicting that the Republic will get a guest seat on the five-member Council, giving it a powerful world influence for the year-long tenure.
In a bid to gain support both the Taoiseach and Foreign Minister will be heading for New York for meetings with represent-atives of dozens of small countries. A campaign is now under way with government officials and diplomats lobbying ambassadors for their vote.
Bertie Ahern is set to throw his weight behind the campaign when he visits the Millennium Summit hosted by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan next month. He will even spend an extra day in New York drumming up support for Ireland's bid for a seat on the Council.
Foreign Minister Brian Cowen will be spearheading the campaign and is due to mount a lobbying blitz over an eight-day period in October. Minister Cowen has been conducting a behind-the-scene offensive since he took over from former his predecessor, David Andrews, last year in an effort to win the support of as many of the 188 UN member states as possible.
The election will take place in late October or early November and it is estimated the government will have spent pounds 1.2 million in lobbying.
It is believed Mr Cowen has conducted 47 meetings with foreign ministers since February in a bid to win their support in the upcoming vote. Foreign Affairs officials at Iveagh House believe it is time the country had a seat on Security Council to speak up for smaller nations.
Mr Cowen has targeted island states such as the Pacific Island state of Togo and smaller countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Already he has met nine Latin American and 19 African foreign ministers to canvass their support. And in a major charm offensive, Irish diplomats are believed to have made contact with all but two of the 188 countries at the UN since 1998.
Diplomatic sources claim that Ireland is now neck-and-neck with Italy and Norway in the race for one of the two Western European seats on the Council from 2001-2002. However, it is thought many of the small countries may opt for Ireland because of the country's history of neutrality and the absence of a colonial past.
If elected it is understood the government will have to send seven extra diplomats to UN headquarters in New York to cope with the extra workload. However, the government is determined to beef up the Irish mission which is headed by Ambassador Richard Ryan.
A diplomatic source said: "Ireland can help to put forward the views of smaller states against those of the larger nations who often dominate UN proceedings." A government spokesman said: "Ireland has only sat on the Security Council on two occasions, for one year in 1962 and between 1981-82 for a full term. "The decision to campaign was taken by the Rainbow coalition and supported by the current administration."
