Paul KeenanIn “a landmark achievement of Irish diplomacy”, Ireland has successfully steered member states of the United Nations to an agreement on the protection of migrants and refugees.
Since last February, the UN’s 193 states have engaged in rounds of negotiations on how best to deal with the surging reality of migration, both economic and forced. Ireland, represented by UN Ambassador David Donoghue, worked with his counterpart from Jordan, Dina Kawar, to chair these negotiations.
The culmination of talks was an announcement this week that a draft document pledging states to work collectively on the protection of migrants from racism and harm has been agreed and will be submitted to the UN headquarters in New York on September 19 for final approval.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan warmly welcomed the announcement of the successful conclusion to the negotiations, hailing it as “a landmark achievement of Irish diplomacy” which is both “critically important and timely”.
The agreement, he said, “will involve shared responsibility for actions aimed at saving lives and the provision of vital policy support and humanitarian and developmental assistance for those involved”.