BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Keep Ireland Neutral - ECPv6.11.2.1//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-ORIGINAL-URL:http://keepirelandneutral.ie
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Keep Ireland Neutral
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:UTC
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:+0000
TZOFFSETTO:+0000
TZNAME:UTC
DTSTART:20250101T000000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251024
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260101
DTSTAMP:20260504T031120
CREATED:20251024T165140Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251124T110447Z
UID:606-1761264000-1767225599@keepirelandneutral.ie
SUMMARY:UN CHARTER - 80th ANNIVERSARY 2025
DESCRIPTION:Eighty years ago\, on 24 October 1945\, the United Nations Charter officially came into effect. The Charter acknowledges that “it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations” to avoid a repeat of the mass atrocities and genocide horrifically perpetrated during the Second World War. The UN is celebrating this 80th anniversary marking the people’s victory in the global struggle against fascism\, which ushered in an era of hope for advances for self determination and human rights with a push to end colonial occupation and domination worldwide. \nFrom an early stage the United Nations came under intense pressure when the big powers formed rival military alliances and blocs to try to bypass its peacemaking vision and principles. Less powerful nations\, such as Ireland\, persevered and prevailed in the face of this. Examples include our Foreign Affairs Minister\, Frank Aiken and his positive role for peace in the UN in the 1950s. His contribution helped the creation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty for realising the goal of nuclear disarmament. \nDespite this type of success the pressure from the continuing bigger power rivalry played its part in tearing the fabric of the Charter apart. Here in Ireland our government has more and more succumbed to this pressure.  Their intention to do away with the UN element of our Triple Lock shows how open they are for us to participate in one of the overseas adventures of the US dominated NATO\, which has been shown to regularly act in breach of the principles of the UN Charter and international law. \nContrary to any logic the Government spokespeople are saying that our Neutrality will not be affected by this . They make statements that ‘we are neutral militarily but we are not politically neutral’. This contradicts the wise adage that ‘war is politics by other means’\, and that adhering to the principle of a State being neutral means that we are enemies of none\, and that we try to maintain friendly relations to all. If a conflict escalates or arises between other States we should remain neutral in that conflict in that we should not support or join in with any of the aggressive activities of either party\, whether they be through financial\, economic\, cultural or military means. \nThis has advantages for peace and security. One is that a neutral country is more favourably placed to promote or make a valuable contribution for the peaceful resolution of conflicts. Another is that we could  offer and deliver genuine humanitarian aid to citizens / residents of either or all the countries adversely affected in the war. Also adhering to a sincere peace policy of pro-active neutrality enables us better to maintain our credibility when it comes to fulfilling our UN Charter obligations when agreed by the General Assembly and the International Court of Justice for taking appropriate and effective actions  as in the ongoing Israeli occupation and genocide in Palestine
URL:http://keepirelandneutral.ie/event/un-charter-day-oct-2025/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251213
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251221
DTSTAMP:20260504T031120
CREATED:20251213T153503Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251213T153503Z
UID:671-1765584000-1766275199@keepirelandneutral.ie
SUMMARY:PRESS RELEASE; Friday 12th Dec\, International Neutrality Day
DESCRIPTION:International Day of Neutrality – Ireland Must Reaffirm Its Commitment to Active\, Positive Neutrality \nOn this International Day of Neutrality\, Ireland confronts an urgent challenge: our neutrality is being progressively eroded by government decisions favouring increased military alignment\, most pressingly\, by plans to remove the Triple Lock requirement for a United Nations mandate to deploy Irish troops abroad. \nThe Triple Lock has served as a key safeguard of Ireland’s neutrality. Article 29 of the Constitution provides only limited protection for Irish neutrality\, so removal of the Triple Lock would leave Ireland “neutral in name only\,” warns Keep Ireland Neutral\, a coalition of peace and neutrality groups across the island. \n“The government’s plan to remove the Triple Lock represents a fundamental shift in Ireland’s foreign policy\,” said a Keep Ireland Neutral spokesperson. “This move would gravely endanger our neutrality. We see this clearly when the US military uses Shannon airport to transport weapons to conflict zones\, showing how bigger powers can pressure Ireland to act against our principles. The Triple Lock is the only safeguard against similar pressure being applied to deploy Irish troops abroad.” \nInternational Day of Neutrality was established by a UN resolution that recognised the importance of UN neutrality and the role that national policies of neutrality can play in strengthening peace and security. As global conflict intensifies\, neutrality is not a weakness but a strategic asset for Ireland\, protecting our sovereignty and independence. For decades\, Irish neutrality has enabled the country to punch above its weight in peacekeeping\, mediation\, and humanitarian diplomacy.  \nOn this occasion\, Keep Ireland Neutral calls on the Irish government to: \n\nReaffirm Ireland’s commitment to genuine\, active neutrality grounded in international law\nProtect the Triple Lock and resist troop deployments without a UN mandate\nReject external pressure to align with military alliances and increase military spending\, which will have a detrimental effect on public spending for health care\, housing\, education and social needs\n\n“We urge the Government to restore Ireland’s leadership role in peacekeeping and ensure we remain\, in both word and deed\, a proud\, principled\, and actively neutral nation\,” the group concluded. \nKeep Ireland Neutral is a collective of civil society peace and neutrality groups dedicated to defending and strengthening Irish neutrality as an active\, positive principle. \nPress contact: Niamh Ní Bhriain | n.nibhriain@tni.org | +31 6 83161768  \nPlease support our statement on social media; \nInstagram  \nhttps://www.facebook.com/61581274196748/posts/pfbid08niiQimKAvdcEvNJpzEYs8BZqtzQF8sQwtxvP6ooy3w5huY4xZGnDrZhzXw46mKEl/?app=fbl
URL:http://keepirelandneutral.ie/event/press-release-friday-12th-dec-international-neutrality-day/
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR