Plans to remove Triple Lock which gives UN a veto over deployment Irish Defence Forces
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The Government is now moving to remove the Triple Lock, which gives UN Security Council a veto over the deployment of Irish members of the defence forces abroad.
Micheál Martin told the Dáil he has instructed officials in the Department of Defence to prepare legislative proposals "without delay" that would govern the future overseas deployments of our Defence Forces.
The move has been described as a "fundamental shift" in Irish foreign policy by Sinn Féin's Matt Carthy who has told the Dáil that it would undermine our neutrality.
Announcing the move to scrap the Triple Lock, Mr Martin said that as matters stand, the legislation governing the dispatch of contingents of the Defence Forces for overseas peace support operations ensures that these may only take place where that deployment is approved by the Government, approved by Dáil resolution if the proposed deployment is more than 12 personnel, and that the operation in question is mandated or authorised by the UN.
"In effect, this ‘Triple Lock’ system hands the five permanent members of the Security Council a veto over our national sovereign decision to deploy troops to peacekeeping missions as we see fit."
While he said there had been no single consensus over how to proceed with the Triple Lock during discussions at the recent consultative forums on national security he said that there is "ample evidence of other options on how to allow agility and responsiveness while ensuring our actions comply with the highest standards of international law".
Mr Martin said: "These could, for example, allow us to despatch Defence Forces personnel to multilateral missions overseas where these are organised by a regional organisation such as the European Union or African Union, or where the host country is requesting such support from the international community.
"While these proposals may not necessarily always include a role for the UN Security Council, they will of course remain fully consistent with the principles of the UN Charter and international law. By making this change in the future, we would be removing the veto power of Security Council members over Ireland’s engagement, while safeguarding the essential link with international law and good governance."
Speaking on Thursday morning on Newstalk radio, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he had never been a fan of the triple lock. He said he did not regard a triple lock as being a component of Irish neutrality at all. The triple lock meant that if Ireland wanted to deploy troops overseas that would require a government decision, Oireachtas approval and, at present, UN authorisation. This meant that countries like China, Russia and even the USA had veto power on Irish military actions. Mr Varadkar pointed out that the UN has not approved a peacekeeping operation in almost 10 years.
Removing the triple lock would be a vindication of Irish sovereignty, “saying that we actually aren't going to allow Russia or China or America or Britain or France decide where we can or can't send our troops".
Mr Varadkar added that he was been advocating for reform of the UN and the Security Council, but that was unlikely.
Speaking to reporters following Mr Martin’s announcement in the Dáil, Mr Carthy said that the change will “undermine Ireland’s credibility”.
“Government haven't answered the question as to what it will do for our neutrality and for our credibility, if we are to send Irish troops to engage in missions that do not have a UN mandate,” Mr Carthy said.
“The truth of the matter is that there has been an agenda at play within Fine Gael in particular, but increasingly within Fianna Fáil, to undermine Irish neutrality and they see the removal of the Triple Lock as a central component in that agenda.”
Mr Carthy said that he believes the general public will not support moves to change the Triple Lock, adding that it should be put before the public as a referendum.
Asked about current UN Security Council vetoes and the impact that has on new peacekeeping missions, Mr Carthy said: “I for one firmly believe that the UN is in need of reform, particularly around that veto that is in place.
“Make no mistake about it, the UN has its faults, but it is the best we have in terms of a multilateral institution that has credibility right across the world.”