Irish Ambassador To Head UN Review Of "Peacebuilding"

Welcoming the appointment, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Micheál Martin T.D., said: "This is a great honour for Ireland and for Ambassador Anderson personally.  It reflects the high regard in which we are held at the United Nations and acknowledges our strong commitment to UN reform. 

"Peacebuilding stands at the heart of the international community's efforts to maintain peace and security, to promote and protect human rights and to ensure sustainable development. In Ireland, we have first-hand experience of the complexities of crafting a sustainable peace. The long and painstaking work to build peace on our own island helps to inform and underpin our steadfast support for UN peacebuilding. This is an area of priority interest for Ireland at the United Nations.

"Ambassador Anderson brings a wealth of diplomatic experience to this task, having served Ireland with distinction as Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Permanent Representative to the European Union, including during Ireland's 2004 EU Presidency, and most recently as Ambassador to France. Her appointment to this Co-Chairmanship reflects the confidence of the President of the Assembly and her peers in her ability to bring this key review to a successful conclusion".