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Martin attends OSCE discussions
Last updated on 29 Sep, 2010
Summary:
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Micheál Martin T.D., is in Vienna today (Wednesday 8 September) to launch Ireland’s chairmanship of the Forum for Security Co-operation, a subsidiary body of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
While in Vienna, the Minister will also meet with the Austrian Foreign Minister, Mr Michael Spindelegger, and with the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mr Yukiya Amano. The discussions with his Austrian counterpart will cover a range of topics, including developments in the Middle East, UN reform and EU affairs. With Mr Amano, Minister Martin will discuss the work of the IAEA and the latest developments with regard to the Iran nuclear issue. The FSC meets in Vienna to discuss and make decisions on aspects of security in the OSCE region, in particular arms control and confidence and security-building measures. Ireland’s chairmanship of this body will run for four months until the end of December. In 2012 Ireland will be assuming the chairmanship of the entire organisation. The Minister’s address to the Forum will lead on the theme of disarmament, paying particular attention to Ireland’s achievement in brokering an international agreement prohibiting the use of cluster munitions. The issue of disarmament and the protection of civilians caught up in armed conflict have always been core priorities in Irish foreign policy. An international diplomatic conference which the Irish Government hosted and chaired in Dublin in 2008 succeeded in negotiating and adopting a Convention on Cluster Munitions which entered into force in August this year. The Minister will be noting the multiple challenges faced by all members of the OSCE - from terrorism and trafficking to climate change; from dealing with remnants of war to stockpile management; and from the proliferation of small and light weapons to the abuse of human rights. He will say that “We will only address these challenges if we work together in cooperation and across all dimensions”. Ireland will use its chairmanship of the FSC to further this cooperation and to prepare for a successful OSCE Summit in December.