President Connolly demands response to 'catastrophic consequences' of violation of UN Charter

President Catherine Connolly has stated the catastrophic consequences of violating the UN Charter cannot be ignored.

In a statement issued on International Women's Day, she outlined: "The violations of international law we are witnessing are shocking and numbing, but we cannot afford inaction.

"What we have witnessed in recent days in the Middle East, and beyond, are not political disputes.

"They are deliberate assaults on international law, the international laws that have underpinned global peace for eighty years.

"We must name them as such, without euphemism and without equivocation.

"Ireland is uniquely positioned to do precisely that.

"Our unbroken record of international peacekeeping since 1958, and our decades of commitment to disarmament and non-proliferation, stand as testament to the disproportionate influence a small, neutral state can wield when it acts with integrity and purpose.

"And our history of colonisation, famine, and the hard-won, peaceful resolution of conflict in the North oblige us to speak plainly.

"The horror of war can never be normalised or accepted.

"Article 29 of the Constitution of Ireland is clear:

“1. Ireland affirms its devotion to the ideal of peace and friendly co-operation amongst nations founded on international justice and morality.

2. Ireland affirms its adherence to the principle of the pacific settlement of international disputes by international arbitration or judicial determination.

3. Ireland accepts the generally recognised principles of international law as its rule of conduct in its relations with other States.”

She continued: "On International Women’s Day, let us reflect on these solemn commitments which we have made in our nation’s Constitution and take every action we can to support the United Nations and all those working to build peace in a time when so many distort language to justify and normalise war. "