Ratification of treaty does not mean saying goodbye to UN
Concern does not involve itself in domestic political issues except insofar as these issues impact on the interests of developing countries and the people we work with. We have not taken any public position on the Nice Treaty or on any previous referendums. Nor, to my knowledge, have any of the main humanitarian or development NGOs which get support from the Irish public and Government.
One NGO Afri which is involved in development issues has taken a position, summarised in the poster "Treaty of Nice Goodbye UN Hello Nato". Lest the silence of the wider NGO community appear in any way to support this view, I want, on behalf of Concern, to fundamentally disagree.
I do not share Afri's view of Europe and its role in the world. I see the European project as having been founded on the need to build peace within Europe and over the past 50 years, it has succeeded.
In the future, I see Europe as a force for working towards a more peaceful and fairer world, through assisting in conflict resolution and providing more equitable trading arrangements.
This country has made a major contribution to UN peacekeeping over the past 40 years.
I believe Ireland will continue to make such a contribution, in some cases working with our European partners, in all cases working under UN mandate. It is therefore misleading to suggest the Nice Treaty could mean that Ireland is saying goodbye to the UN.
Tom Arnold,
Chief Executive
Concern Worldwide,
Camden St,
Dublin 2.
