Welcome Message

Welcome to the website of the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. 

Photo credit: OSCE/Tolgonai Akimova

Welcome to the website of the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the Organisation for Security Cooperation in Europe. I hope you will find the information contained here useful and interesting. 

Ireland was a founder member in 1975 of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), which became the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 1994. Ireland assumed the Chairpersonship of the OSCE for 2012 and then Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore T.D. acted as Chair-in-Office.

The OSCE is the world’s largest regional security organisation. Its 57 participating States cover the geographical area from Vancouver to Vladivostok and include four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The role of the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the OSCE is to promote Ireland's foreign policy interests and values at the OSCE and to promote effective multilateral and regional cooperation in line with the organisation's comprehensive approach to security. The OSCE provides a political forum in which participating States cooperate. Ireland supports OSCE efforts to advance peace and security in the OSCE area. They include a broad range of measures to improve confidence and security building, identify economic and environmental threats and advance the promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The work of the OSCE reflects the values that lie at the heart of Ireland's foreign policy and contributes to our goal of a fairer, just, secure and sustainable world. 

This website is designed to help you find out about Ireland’s role in the OSCE and about the OSCE itself. It also contains links to the OSCE Institutions, the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and other closely related websites.