UNEF II

Foreign relations of the Republic of Ireland

The foreign relations of Ireland are substantially influenced by its membership of the European Union, although bilateral relations with the United States and United Kingdom are also important to the country. It is one of the group of smaller nations in the EU, and has traditionally followed a non-aligned foreign policy.

Ireland tends towards independence in foreign policy, thus it is not a member of NATO and has a longstanding policy of military neutrality. This policy has helped the Irish Defence Forces to be successful in their contributions to UN peace-keeping missions since 1960 (in the Congo Crisis) and subsequently in Cyprus, Lebanon and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

European Union

Ireland is consistently the most pro-European of EU member states, with 77% of the population approving of EU membership according to a Eurobarometer poll in 2006. Yet the Irish rejected the EU Lisbon treaty in the summer of 2008. Ireland was a founding member of the euro single currency. In May 2004, Ireland was one of only three countries to open its borders to workers from the 10 new member states. EU issues important to Ireland include the Common Agricultural Policy, corporation tax harmonization and the EU Constitution.

As of 2008, Dick Roche is Minister of State with special responsibility for European Affairs at the Department of Foreign Affairs. Ireland has held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on six occasions (in 1975, 1979, 1984, 1990, 1996 and 2004) and is scheduled to hold the presidency again in 2013.

United Kingdom

Since independence, Ireland had been involved in a dispute with the United Kingdom over the status of Northern Ireland. Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland formerly claimed Northern Ireland as a part of the "national territory", though in practice the Irish government did recognise the UK's jurisdiction over the region. With the onset of the Troubles in 1969, the Irish government sought an accommodation with the British government to bring the violence to an end . Following the burning of the British embassy in Dublin in 1972, the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973 and the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 were important steps in this process. In 1998, both nations signed the Belfast Agreement and now co-operate closely to find a solution to the region's problems. Articles 2 and 3 were amended as part of this agreement, the territorial claim being replaced with a statement of aspiration to unite the people of the island of Ireland. As part of the Belfast Agreement the two states also ended the dispute over their respective names: Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Each agreed to accept and use the others' correct name.

The Irish Government has sought, with mixed success, to prevent the importation of weapons and ammunition through the state by the illegal IRA, for use in their conflict with the security forces in Northern Ireland. In the 1970s the Irish warship, the LÉ Ciara intercepted a ship carrying weapons from Libya which were more than likely destined for the republican paramilitaries. Law enforcement acts such as these additionally improved relations with the government of the United Kingdom. However, the independent judiciary blocked many attempts to extradite suspects between 1970 and 1998 on the basis that their crime might have been 'political'.

Ireland is also a party to the Rockall continental shelf dispute that also involves Denmark, Iceland, and the United Kingdom. Ireland and the United Kingdom have signed a boundary agreement in the Rockall area. However, neither have concluded similar agreements with Iceland or Denmark (on behalf of the Faroe Islands) and the matter remains under negotiation. Iceland now claims a substantial area of the continental shelf to the west of Ireland, to a point 49°48'N 19°00'W, which is further south than Ireland.

The controversial Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in western England has been a contentious issue between the two governments. The Irish government has sought the closure of the plant, taking a case against the UK government under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. However, the European Court of Justice found that the case should have been dealt with under EU law.

As of 2006, David Reddaway was the British ambassador to Ireland, and Dáithí Ó Ceallaigh was the Irish ambassador to the United Kingdom.

United States

The use of Shannon Airport as a stop-over point for US forces en-route to Iraq has caused domestic controversy. Opponents of this policy brought an unsuccessful High Court case against the government in 2003, arguing that this use of Irish airspace violated Irish neutrality. Foreign direct investment by U.S. companies is vital to the Irish economy — the U.S. is Ireland's largest source of foreign investment, and exports to the U.S. amounted to 10% of GDP in 2005. The large Irish-American population in the United States strengthens ties between the two countries.

The U.S. government has appointed a Special Envoy to Northern Ireland to help with the Northern Ireland peace process. As of 2006, this position is held by Mitchell Reiss. Areas of interest between the U.S. and Ireland include the Northern Ireland peace process, the status of Irish illegal immigrants in the U.S. and investment by U.S. companies in Ireland.

As of 2006, Noel Fahey was the Irish ambassador to the United States, and Thomas C. Foley was the U.S. ambassador to Ireland.

United Nations

The United Nations was founded in 1945, but Ireland's membership was blocked by the Soviet Union until it joined in 1955.

As of 2006, the Irish ambassador to the UN was David J. Cooney. Ireland has been elected to the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member on three occasions — in 1962, in 1981-1982 and most recently in 2001-2002.

Ireland is a member state of the International Criminal Court, having signed the Rome Statute in 1998 and ratified it in 2002.

Peacekeeping missions

Ireland has a long history of participation in UN peacekeeping efforts starting in 1958, just three years after joining the UN. As of 2006, 85 members of the Irish Defence Forces had been killed on peacekeeping missions.

List of major peacekeeping operations:

June 1958–December 1958: UNOGIL observer mission to Lebanon
1958–present: UNTSO mission to the Middle East
1960–1964: ONUC mission to Congo
1964–present: UNFICYP mission to Cyprus
1973–1974: UNEF II mission to Sinai after the Yom Kippur War
1978–present: UNIFIL mission to Lebanon
1988–1991: UNIIMOG mission to the Iran-Iraq border following the Iran–Iraq War
1993–1995: UNOSOM II "peace enforcement" mission to Somalia
1997–2004: SFOR mission to former Yugoslavia
1999–present: KFOR mission to Kosovo
1999–2000: INTERFET mission to East Timor
2003–present: UNMIL mission to Liberia
2008–present: EUFOR Chad/CAR mission to Chad and the Central African Republic

As well as these missions, Irish personnel have served as observers in Central America, Russia, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Namibia, Western Sahara, Kuwait and South Africa.

International organisations

Ireland is a member of or otherwise participates in the following international organisations:

Asian Development Bank, Australia Group, Bank for International Settlements, Council of Europe, Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank, Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union, European Space Agency, European Union, Food and Agriculture Organization, International Atomic Energy Agency, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Civil Aviation Organization, International Criminal Court, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, International Development Association, International Energy Agency, International Fund for Agricultural Development, International Finance Corporation, International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, International Maritime Organization, Interpol, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, International Organization for Migration, Inter-Parliamentary Union, International Organization for Standardization, International Telecommunication Union, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara, United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nuclear Energy Agency, Nuclear Suppliers Group, Organization of American States (observer), OECD, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Paris Club, Permanent Court of Arbitration, Partnership for Peace, United Nations, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNESCO, UNHCR, United Nations Industrial Development Organization, United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, United Nations Mission in Liberia, United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire, United Nations Truce Supervision Organization, Universal Postal Union, World Customs Organization, Western European Union (observer), World Health Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization, World Meteorological Organization, World Trade Organization, Zangger Committee.

Foreign aid

Ireland's aid program was founded in 1974, and in 2006 its budget amounted to €734 million. The government has set a target of reaching the Millennium Development Goal of 0.7% of Gross National Product in aid by 2012, a target which is projected to amount to €1.5 billion based on current GNP growth. Irish development aid is concentrated on eight priority countries: Lesotho, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia, Uganda, Vietnam and East Timor. in 2006, Malawi was announced as the ninth priority country, with a tenth country to follow.

As of 2008, Michael Kitt was the Minister of State with special responsibility for Overseas Development and Human Rights at the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Human rights

There have been no serious civil, human or social rights abuses/problems in the State, according to Amnesty International and the U.S. State Department. The country consistently comes among the top nations in terms of freedom and rights ratings.

Index	Ranking	Result
Freedom in the World - Political Liberties	Joint 1st	1 ("Free")
Freedom in the World - Civil Rights	Joint 1st	1 ("Free")
Index of Economic Freedom	3rd	1.58 ("Free")
Global Peace Index	6th	1.41 ("More Peaceful")
Worldwide Press Freedom Index Ranking	Joint 8th	2.00 ("Most Free")
Democracy Index	11th	9.01 ("Full Democracy")
Failed States Index	174th (4th from the bottom)	19.5 ("Sustainable")