Ireland's Leader Delivers Sweeping Indictment of Global Inaction at UN

Taoiseach Micheál Martin used Ireland's General Assembly address — and the weight of the EU Council Presidency — to condemn wars in Ukraine, Sudan, and Gaza, demand Security Council reform, and warn that the full truth of what is happening in Gaza will "shame the world."

• Ireland accuses Israel of deliberately destroying the two-state solution, quoting the Israeli PM's own pledge that "there will be no Palestinian state"
• Russia's war in Ukraine called "utterly unacceptable" as civilian deaths reach new highs and wheat prices spike from $5 to over $7 per bushel
• Sudan labeled a "forgotten war" with 15 million displaced and 33 million needing aid, as Ireland demands outside powers stop fueling the conflict
• Ireland announces candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council for 2027–2029, pledging to defend universal rights amid global rollback
• Security Council veto system attacked as having "stymied the Council and eroded its legitimacy," with Ireland pushing for African representation
• Iran told it "must never have a nuclear weapon" as Ireland demands an end to attacks on Gulf shipping and neighbors
• Israel's Lebanon operations called "wholly disproportionate," with Ireland demanding military withdrawal from the south

Taoiseach Micheál Martin opened his Sept. 24 address to the 81st UN General Assembly General Debate by confronting the mood of the moment head-on: a world fracturing under conflict, climate disruption, and what he described as the erosion of hard-won rights.