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OSCE Chairperson-in-Office: Ireland looks forward to working closely with the Co-Chairs and other members of the Minsk Group during the year

12 January 2012 11:43 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Viktoria Dementyeva â€“ APA. The OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore addressed the OSCE Permanent Council and presented Irelandâ€™s priorities for 2012. APA reports that Eamon Gilmore said the Chairmanship would maintain a balanced approach in addressing the politico-military, economic and environmental, and human dimensions of security.

Eamon Gilmore said that the full implementation of OSCE human dimension commitments by OSCE participating States is a top priority.
â€œOur first priority in the Human Dimension will be internet freedom. I believe that there will be particular interest in our proposal to focus on racism, discrimination and intolerance in sport. The continuing threat to fundamental freedoms and human rights in a number of OSCE participating States is a cause of real concern. We intend to organise a Human Dimension meeting in Dublin next June for OSCE participating States,â€ he said.

â€œIreland will seek to continue work on tackling transnational threats such as organised crime, cyber threats including cyber-crime, drugs, terrorism and trafficking. The Irish Chair will invite participating States to reflect during 2012 on the building blocks available to us in the areas of arms control, conflict prevention and resolution and transnational threats and the steps we can take together to achieve the Security Community.â€

â€œAs Chairperson-in-Office, I will seek ways in which progress can be made towards lasting settlements of a number of conflicts in the OSCE area. Among these are the conflicts in Moldova regarding the territory of Transdniestria; in Georgia regarding the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia; and the conflict which is the subject of the Minsk process. I have nominated two Special Representatives, Ambassador PÃ¡draig Murphy and Ambassador Erwan FouÃ©rÃ©, to assist and advise me on these issues during the Irish Chairmanship. I hope that they will enjoy your full support.

We also commend the continuing work of the OSCEâ€™s Minsk Group in addressing the long-running dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh and look forward to working closely with the Co-Chairs and other members of the Minsk Group during the year.

We in Ireland know all too well the devastating cost of conflict. Through negotiation, compromise and the dedication and imagination of the two Governments involved and leaders on both sides of the divide, a lasting settlement was achieved in relation to Northern Ireland. This experience may be of benefit in facilitating the efforts which are needed to resolve outstanding conflicts in the OSCE region, using the tools of peaceful negotiation and agreed formats and respecting fully the principles of international law. In this spirit, I will host a conference in Dublin on 27 April which will present aspects of the Northern Ireland example as a case study. While each conflict situation is different, I hope that in sharing our experience we will assist and encourage those engaged in seeking lasting settlements to conflicts in our region.â€