LAST UPDATE | 21 Sep

TAOISEACH MICHEÁL MARTIN has said that artificial intelligence will be a key talking point at this week’s United Nations General Assembly high-level week.

A delegation led by the Fianna Fáil leader will represent Ireland in New York for the 81st UN high-level week. 

Martin will arrive in New York today, joining Minister for Transport and Climate Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee, junior minister for international development Neale Richmond and junior minister for fisheries and the marine Timmy Dooley. 

Speaking at Government Buildings ahead of cabinet today, he said that AI will emerge as a talking point at the meeting.

“Quite a number of states are now quite concerned, in terms of what we’re reading in the last number of weeks, in terms of the challenges that AI could present ultimately to the world,” he said. 

While there, the Irish delegation will participate in a number of meetings centred on securing lasting peace between Israel and Palestine, with the Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs also set to participate in a number of economic and trade bilateral while in the US. 

Martin said the main focus “is to try and reassert multilateralism in respect to conflict and war all over the world”. 

“I will try and get a read from the UN agencies in respect of the situation in Gaza and on the West Bank, and we’ll be meeting a number of interlocutors from the Middle East, but also then in terms of Ukraine,” he said.

This year’s UN General Assembly comes against a backdrop of mounting pressure on the UN institutions themselves, with UN Secretary General António Guterres warning earlier this year that the multilateral institution was at risk of “imminent financial collapse” due to member states not paying their fees. 

The UN has been increasingly sidelined during US President Donald Trump’s second term in office, as Trump has refused to contribute the US’s regular and peacekeeping budgets, calling it a “waste of taxpayer money”. 

Ireland said it remains firmly committed to the UN and supports the reform initiative launched by Guterres, who ends his five-year term at the end of this year. 

The Irish government’s position is that Guterres has been a “principled defender of international law” and that it is hopeful his successor is someone who is “firmly committed to the UN Charter and focused on preventing and resolving conflicts, rebuilding trust in multilateralism, bridging divides, mobilising collective action, delivering tangible results, and delivering tangible UN reforms”.

Palestinian officials denied visas

For a second year in a row, the US government has denied visas to Palestinian officials, including Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, seeking to attend the UN General Assembly.

Abbas, a UN regular, will be forced to appear virtually at the event. 

Over the weekend, the European Union said it regretted the decision and urged that the decision be reconsidered. 

Guterres also expressed regret at Washington’s decision, saying he was concerned about its impact “on the ability of the State of Palestine to participate fully in the work of the United Nations”.

The United States and Israel have objected to the Palestinian Authority’s historical payments to families of imprisoned or slain Palestinians, including those who carried out attacks against Israelis.

The Palestinian Authority recently reformed this system, allocating welfare payments to families on a needs basis rather than political affiliation or prisoner status.

McEntee to host event on women’s rights in Afghanistan

Today, McEntee will host a high-level event on the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan, in partnership with the Malala Fund.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk is set to address the event, which comes following five years of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, during which the rights of women and girls have been systematically eroded.

Speaking ahead of the event in New York, McEntee said: “Five years on from the Taliban takeover, the people of Afghanistan continue to endure a severe humanitarian crisis.

“Women and girls in particular are facing unprecedented restrictions on their rights and freedoms.”

She noted that over 2.6 million girls have been denied access to secondary education since 2021, and a wide range of measures have excluded women and girls from public life, employment, education and access to justice.

“The international community cannot allow the dire situation in Afghanistan to slip down the agenda. We must continue to engage in a principled manner that supports the Afghan people, upholds human rights and ensures that the voices of Afghan women remain at the centre of international efforts,” McEntee said.