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Upcoming OSCE Chairman-in-Office: No conflict can be resolved unless there is a genuine will on the part of those directly involved -INTERVIEW

Upcoming OSCE Chairman-in-Office: No conflict can be resolved unless there is a genuine will on the part of those directly involved -<font color=red>INTERVIEW</font>

22 December 2011 08:44 (UTC +04:00)

Upcoming OSCE Chairman-in-Office appointed Special Representative for the South Caucasus

Baku â€“ APA. Victoria Dementieva. APA interview with upcoming OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade of Ireland Eamon Gilmore

- What are the priorities of upcoming Ireland Chairmanship in OSCE? How do you see it?

- My first priority will, of course be to build on the outcome of the Vilnius Ministerial Council, which will provide an indication of the direction in which the participating States wish to see the organization move. In the security area there is probably room for further work on updating commitments to take account of developments in the past twenty years or so. The human dimension of the OSCEâ€™s work is very important to Ireland and I shall continue to work for the promotion of media freedom and other important areas in which the OSCE has demonstrated experience and expertise. In the economic and environmental dimension of the organization I intend to promote the concept of good governance, which is an essential, but often overlooked, requirement for economic growth and sustainable development.

- The conflict resolution issue is among the priorities of Ireland presidency. How will Ireland supportfacilitate the issue, what kind of work does the Chairmanship intend to do in this direction?

- I shall be a strong promoter of the conflict resolution work of the OSCE through established frameworks such as the Minsk Process, but I shall also encourage constructive dialogue wherever the opportunity presents itself. The OSCE area, unfortunately, has seen a number of serious conflicts since the collapse of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. In some cases those conflicts have been effectively resolved while in others they have not. I am very concerned about the so called protracted conflicts and I am concerned that there is a certain degree of complacency. I do not see the status quo as a viable long term solution.

- Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of the unresolved conflicts in OSCE. How Ireland can support the peace negotiation on that issue taking into the consideration that Ireland was also involved in a conflict and could share its experience?

- I am glad you raise the Irish experience. We are still engaged in a lengthy peace process on our island. So far this process has been successful, but that success has involved very real sacrifices from all sides in this conflict as well as significant international support and mediation. It is foolish to imagine that the solution of one conflict can be a readymade solution to others, but there are some general lessons on conflict resolution which we can draw from our experience. I shall be eager to share that experience with other OSCE participating States and I would hope that all those affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict may find aspects of our experience helpful in resolving their differences.

- And how active Ireland can be in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution?

- No conflict can be resolved unless there is a genuine will on the part of those directly involved, including a willingness to make sacrifices and to accept that a solution is very unlikely to meet the maximum demands of any party. Ireland comes to this conflict as an honest broker and our sole interest in this conflict is a peaceful resolution which will allow all sides to put the conflict behind them and work to achieve the potential of this beautiful, but troubled region. We are ready to support the efforts of all those working for peace in good faith.

- Do you have any plans to visit South Caucasus in 2012?

- As Chairman in Office I expect to be travelling extensively in the OSCE region during 2012. My travel programme has not been finalized, but clearly a visit to the region might well be an important element.

- The Lithuanian chairperson appointed Special Representative on unresolved conflicts in the OSCE region. Will Ireland also appoint Special Representative on that issue? Who can be nominated on this position?

- I have recently announced the appointment of my Special Representative for the South Caucasus. He is a retired Irish diplomat, Ambassador PÃ¡draig Murphy, whose distinguished career included service as Ambassador to the Soviet Union, Germany, Spain and Japan. He has already visited the region courtesy of the Lithuanian Chairmanship and will be a regular and active visitor throughout 2012.

- OSCE reforms. Recently it is said that the organization needs reform to be taken to revive its influence. Do you think that reform is needed? And if yes, what will Ireland take in this direction?

- No organization is so perfect that it cannot benefit from reform from time to time and that is certainly true of OSCE. The reform process is ongoing and will continue throughout 2012. The structures of the organization and its way of doing business will be examined and where improvements can be identified, Ireland will support their implementation. However, I am not sure that the influence of OSCE can be revived by organizational reforms alone. There is a need for commitment on the part of participating States to let the organization function. OSCE operates on the basis of consensus. This was agreed in the early days when participating States were defending perceived vital interests during the cold war. Today it is often abused by States seeking to force others to accept their positions on often quite minor matters. I would think that a destructive, and ultimately self defeating, approach to the organization on the part of participating States is a far greater threat to its effectiveness and even its survival than any organizational shortcomings.