DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland moved on Tuesday to remove a law that prevents the deployment of its troops without U.N. approval, with Prime Minister Micheal Martin saying he did not want Russia, China or the United States having a veto on deployments.
Ireland, which is militarily neutral, currently only allows troop deployment with the approval of the United Nations, the government and parliament – the so-called “triple lock”.
A draft law removing the U.N. requirement was presented to a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday after plans to drop it were announced in late 2023.
“Russia should not have a veto, China should not have a veto, U.S. should not have a veto over where we send our soldiers in pursuit of peace,” Martin told parliament, listing three of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Opposition leaders told parliament that the move would undermine Irish neutrality and its commitment to multilateralism, charges Martin rejected.
“Ireland cannot put its head in the sand,” Martin said, adding that the geopolitical situation had changed “very, very dramatically”.
Martin reiterated Ireland’s plans to increase military spending, which is among the lowest in Europe, but ruled out changing its policy of non-alignment.
Ireland currently has U.N. peacekeeping forces in Lebanon and has deployed troops on missions including in Syria and East Timor.
(Writing by Conor Humphries; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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