DiEM25, as one of the civic society groups active for peace and for Palestine solidarity which are part of the Keep Ireland Neutral campaign to retain the Triple Lock, have issued a statement to mark United Nations Charter Day.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the UN Charter. Signed in San Francisco on 26 June 1945, it outlines the structure, functions, and principles of the United Nations. The Charter officially came into effect on 24 October 1945, following ratification by the five permanent members of the Security Council and a majority of other countries.

The Charter was born out of the horrors of World War II and the global struggle against fascism, and it acknowledges that “it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations” to avoid a repeat of these horrors.

Over the next months – from June to October – the UN will be celebrating this anniversary. We members of the Keep Ireland Neutral campaign have decided to support and promote these celebrations in whatever way we can.

We will be doing so at the time when there are highly militarised and belligerent States trying to rip the Charter to shreds. In the past couple of weeks people all over the world have been shocked by the unjustified, illegal and unprovoked attacks on Iran by Israel, backed by the US.

The US then compounded this aggression by directly bombing nuclear energy sites in Iran on June 22 – the anniversary of Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and its European Axis allies in 1941.

Here in Ireland, our government is desperately trying to also play its part in tearing the fabric of the Charter apart. The government’s intention is to remove the UN element of the Triple Lock by replacing it with an optional ‘International Force’ or “any other regional arrangement or body that operates in a manner consistent with the UN Charter and international law.”

This is clearly designed to open us up to participating in one of the adventures of the US dominated NATO, which has been shown to act in a manner contrary to and in breach of the principles of the UN Charter and international law.

One of the definitions of ‘International force’ in the government’s proposed bill refers to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Despite its promise to create “a space for peace, security, and democracy”, this organisation is now linked to excusing and sanitising war, apartheid and genocide. The OSCE recently welcomed Israel’s active participation as an OSCE Partner State, while also during a “debate about counter-terrorism” were talking about “the need for protecting civilian lives in the Israel-Hamas war”.

They also refer a lot to ending the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine. But they conveniently ignore what’s been happening since 2014 – including NATO’s role in the war, and the current Ukrainian State’s conflict with the people of the Donbass and other affected areas.

During this period of celebration, Keep Ireland Neutral will continue our campaign for retaining Ireland’s Triple Lock, while committing ourselves to the “we the people” determination expressed in the UN Charter:

• to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war
• to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small
• to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained
• to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom

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