Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The Government is committed to seeking to increase Irish engagement in international conflict resolution as a dimension of our foreign policy. The role of the conflict resolution unit in the Department of Foreign Affairs is to offer support for conflict resolution efforts internationally while also seeking to develop our national capacity in this area. It aims to draw from our own experience of peacemaking and peace building and from the work of Irish Aid, while also developing a range of partnerships with relevant international organisations and non-governmental organisations, NGOs.

The unit currently has two initiatives in the field, one in Timor-Leste and the other a cross-learning exercise involving Liberia, Timor-Leste and Northern Ireland on how best to advance the role of women in conflict resolution and peace building. As one of the most fragile of the nine Irish Aid programme countries, Timor-Leste was identified as an appropriate country for initial engagement. The CRU engagement there is headed by Dame Nuala O'Loan, our first roving ambassador for conflict resolution, former Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and special envoy to Timor-Leste.

Our engagement in Timor-Leste, in close co-operation with Irish Aid's development programme there, is designed to address key issues directly related to the risk of renewed internal conflict. Initiatives taken so far include support for an early warning and response system based in civil society, a programme on peace, remembrance and reconciliation, advice on security sector reform, and support for structured high level dialogue among rival leaders. Our special envoy and the conflict resolution unit consult closely with key bilateral partners in the region and with the United Nations.

The cross-learning process on UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security is designed to facilitate the sharing of experiences between Liberia, Timor-Leste and Northern Ireland with a view to encouraging best practice. In addition to a meeting of representatives from these areas organised last November, a conflict resolution unit project team has recently carried out missions to Monrovia and Dili. The outcome of this process will also feed into the development of Ireland's own national action plan on Resolution 1325. Following approaches from some other quarters, the possibility of further engagements in the field is being explored. These must of necessity remain confidential for now.

Conflict resolution is complex and sensitive work and can only be carried out effectively in close co-ordination with other key agencies and governments. The conflict resolution unit has broadened its network of contacts in the UN, EU and the OECD's development assistance committee.

We have developed a system of fourth level scholarships and they have already been put in place. Two three-year scholarships were awarded last year and up to five will be awarded this year, in conjunction with the Irish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences. We are examining a number of models to see how best to make use of the wide range of relevant expertise across all existing institutions and how to encourage collaboration between them.

See this speech in context