Ireland will seek election to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the first time this year, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said.
Mr Kenny has outlined Ireland's role in promoting peace today - which is the 45th annual World Peace Day.
He said if elected to the UN Human Rights Council, Ireland would support clear and strong action by the council in addressing human rights violations and in promoting universal respect for those rights.
In his message for World Peace Day, Pope Benedict XVI said the young with their enthusiasm and idealism can offer new hope to the world.
The Pontiff said that attentiveness to young people and their concerns represents a primary duty for society as a whole, for the sake of building a future of justice and peace.
He highlighted the need to communicate to young people an appreciation for the positive value of life.
Elsewhere, former President Mary McAleese and her husband, Senator Martin McAleese, have been given the 2011 ''Tipperary International Peace Award'' for promoting peace and reconciliation.
Criticism of Catholic Church 'legitimate'
Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland Diarmuid Martin has said despite the "dark moments" in the Catholic Church, which have been unveiled in recent years, the contribution of the church as an institution to Ireland's development has overall been positive.
He said criticism or rejection of the Catholic Church and what it represents is legitimate, but said criticism is different from negative and cynical caricature of faith or spin.
He said while faith in Jesus Christ cannot be imposed on any individual, this does not mean faith has no contribution to the political or economic life of a society.
Diarmuid Martin was speaking at the annual World Peace Day mass, which took place in St Mary's Church in Dublin today.
The Archbishop also said the Catholic Church had a dominant influence on the values that keep our social interaction intact and said a new situation now exists and this requires a change in the manner of interaction between church and State.
