OSCE Shared Future Conference 2012

Shared Future: Building and Sustaining Peace, the Northern Ireland case study.

As part of Ireland’s Chairmanship-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Tánaiste hosted a high-level conference in Dublin on 27 April 2012, entitled ‘Shared Future: Building and Sustaining Peace, the Northern Ireland case study.’ The conference presented the experience of achieving a peaceful political settlement in Northern Ireland (generally known at the Good Friday Agreement) as a case study of possible relevance to conflict resolution efforts in the OSCE area and elsewhere.

This is the first time the Irish Government has hosted an international conference of this kind on the subject of the Northern Ireland peace process. The Chairperson-in-Office, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade, Eamon Gilmore, hosted the event, which took place in the historic setting of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham in Dublin. It brought together a broad range of senior political figures with first-hand experience of the peace process to share their experience with participating States.

The conference was moderated by the former President of Finland and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Martti Ahtisaari, who brought his unique experience of conflict resolution and mediation to bear on discussions. Former US Senator George Mitchell, who chaired the negotiations for the Good Friday Agreement, also spoke at the conference.

The opening session of the conference, which was streamed live on the day of the conference, is available to view at the following link http://www.osce.org/event/buildingpeace2012. This session examined the political process which led to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and the processes and institutions which have sustained it. The high-level speakers were Deputy Prime Minister Gilmore; First Minister of the Northern Ireland Executive, Peter Robinson; Deputy First Minister of the Northern Ireland Executive, Martin McGuinness; and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Owen Paterson. The Secretary General of the OSCE, Lamberto Zannier, also spoke during the opening session.

The ‘Shared Future’ conference provided a unique opportunity to hear from those involved in making the Good Friday Agreement work. Speakers’ remarks from throughout the conference, as well as the full programme for the event, are available below.