Media Notice OSCE Chairmanship Conference RHK 27 April
ADVANCE MEDIA NOTIFICATION
OSCE Chairmanship Conference
‘Shared Future: building and sustaining peace’
The Northern Ireland case study
27 April 2012, Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Dublin
In the context of Ireland’s Chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore, T.D., will host a high level conference at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin, on the subject of the Northern Ireland peace process.
This is the first time that the Irish Government will host an international conference of this kind, the aim of which is to encourage those engaged in efforts to resolve conflicts elsewhere.
SPEAKERS:
The conference will be moderated by the former President of Finland and the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Martti Ahtisaari, who will bring his unique experience of conflict resolution and mediation to bear on discussions.
The Tánaiste will deliver the opening address. Other speakers at the opening session include the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt. Hon. Owen Paterson M.P., and the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland, the Rt. Hon. Peter D. Robinson MLA and Martin McGuinness MP, MLA. The Secretary General of the OSCE, Lamberto Zannier, will also address the opening session.
Minister of State, Brian Hayes T.D. will deliver an address on the subject of commemorations. Senator George Mitchell will deliver the keynote address at the final session, which will address the role of outside actors in supporting the peace process and sustaining the post-conflict environment. Other speakers will include Minister of Justice in the Northern Ireland Executive, David Ford MLA, the Garda Commissioner, Martin Callinan, the Deputy Chief Constable of the PSNI, Judith Gillsepie, and representatives of political parties involved in the Good Friday negotiations.
Speakers will offer their perspectives on how the Good Friday Agreement was achieved and how its operation has transformed the politics and the daily lives of people living in Northern Ireland.
PROGRAMME:
There will be sessions on (i) the political process which led to the settlement and is sustaining it, (ii) policing and justice issues, (iii) accommodating and respecting different traditions and (iv) the international dimension to the achievement of the settlement.
Attendance will be drawn from the fifty-six OSCE participating States, the OSCE Partners for Co-operation, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the OSCE Institutions.
PRESS:
Media are invited to be present for the opening speeches, which will take place from 09.30-10.30. These will also be web-streamed live. There will be press facilities on site for media.
Media Accreditation:
Media wishing to apply for accreditation to cover
the visit should send an email to the Press Office of the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade at press.registrations@dfa.ie giving
the following information:
Full name
Date of Birth
Media Organisation
Function (e.g. Journalist, Photographer, Camera crew, etc.)
Contact details – e-mail and mobile phone number
The email should also include a passport photo in jpeg format
and a copy of Passport details - photo page).
Where appropriate, details will also be sought on outside broadcast units or similar equipment that may need to be accommodated in the course of the programme.
Press Office
18 April 2012
NOTE FOR EDITORS:
Recognising that no two conflict situations are the same, the Government is presenting the example of the Northern Ireland peace process as a case study which might be found to have some interest or relevance for efforts to resolve other conflicts. The conference will not be prescribing models or blueprints for action. Rather, the focus will be on an exchange of experience, with particular emphasis on how the Good Friday Agreement was achieved, how the political trust needed for it was built up and how the post-conflict political processes and institutions are functioning today.
Further information on the OSCE can be found at www.osce.org.
CONTACT:
For further information please contact Clare
Brosnan, clare.brosnan@dfa.ie , T (+353-1)
408 2770 / M (+353) 87-243 8291
