I very much welcome His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI's message for the World Day of Peace 2009, which sets out clearly the threat that poverty poses to peace. His Holiness states unambiguously that "to fight poverty is to build peace". I fully share the view of His Holiness that we must have a wide-ranging understanding of poverty and that individuals, peoples and nations must join in global solidarity to tackle its many causes. Poverty reduction is the overarching objective of Irish Aid, the Government's programme of assistance to the developing world.
His Holiness has highlighted the devastating effect of pandemic diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS on individuals and societies. The fight against HIV and AIDS worldwide is a key priority for Ireland. Our commitment to addressing HIV and AIDS has been guided by an understanding of poverty and vulnerability and how HIV relates to this. We continue to promote a response which is focused on the reduction of poverty, the provision of basic services and addressing the status of women, on a country by country basis. We work with a range of partners and support interventions at international and national levels. Ireland was delighted, therefore, to co-host with UNICEF the 4th Global Partners Forum on Children affected by HIV and AIDS, which was held at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin on 6-7 October.
His Holiness stresses that the current food crisis is characterised not so much by a shortage of food, but by difficulty in accessing it. Ireland has committed to responding both to acute needs and to the underlying causes of hunger. Our overall aim is to contribute to food security through a range of actions, including rural development, agricultural research and building livelihoods.
In September of this year, Ireland's Hunger Task Force presented its report to me at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, in the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. A special team has now been established in the Department of Foreign Affairs to ensure that we follow through on the Hunger Task Force commitment to give hunger the absolute priority it deserves.
His Holiness correctly notes the importance of cooperation in the field of international commerce and finance so that together we can identify and implement coordinated strategies to tackle poverty. I welcome the commitments made in the Declaration that issued at the Doha Conference in December and note that, despite serious economic difficulties, Ireland remains on course to achieve the target of spending 0.7 per cent of GNP on Overseas Development Aid.
In this time of global economic crisis, His Holiness' message is a timely reminder of the obligation that we in the developed world have to assist those in greater need. Poverty destroys human potential, increases vulnerability and limits opportunity. We must ensure that progress already made is safeguarded and that commitments made in fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals do not falter.
I fully share the views of His Holiness that a secure and stable world is dependent on effective arms control, disarmament and the elimination of nuclear weapons. We were proud to host and chair a Diplomatic Conference in Croke Park in May 2008, attended by over 100 States, which adopted the Convention on Cluster Munitions. At the Signing Conference in Oslo in December, Ireland was able to sign and ratify the Convention on the day on which it opened for signature, one of only four States to do so, along with the Holy See. We will now work to ensure the greatest possible number of accessions to the Convention and to plan to do all that is necessary to implement it in full, especially in regard to victim assistance and clearance. Ultimately, we want to see the Convention ratified by all Member States of the United Nations. This is, of course, just one of the many aspects of disarmament in which Ireland will continue to play a leading role in the future.
ENDS