Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Sharing the experience of peace and reconciliation on the island of Ireland is identified as a priority in our foreign policy document, The Global Island, which was published earlier this year. Since its establishment in 2008, the conflict resolution unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has engaged in such work on an ongoing basis. Each conflict and each peace process is unique. There is no one model for reconciliation that will be successful in every context. Many parts of the world that have been affected by conflict look to Ireland for ideas, inspiration and advice. Experience has shown that Ireland can offer a useful lesson-sharing engagement. This practical sharing of good practice and experience needs to be tailored to the specifics of the particular conflict situation. At the same time, general insights and principles that may be applied in various contexts with the aim of building a sustainable peace need to be communicated.

The Department's lesson-sharing work has been largely undertaken in response to demand from international organisations working in a number of conflict situations in countries throughout the world. Since 2008, the conflict resolution unit has hosted delegations from Afghanistan, Moldova, Nepal, South Korea and the Middle East.

Already since the start of 2015, relevant lessons from Ireland’s experience of promoting peace support and post-conflict reconciliation have been shared in the contexts of conflicts and peace processes in Colombia, Ukraine, Turkey and the Middle East. Lesson-sharing has addressed a wide range of conflict resolution issues such as security sector support, human rights, the role of international third parties in peace processes, the participation of women and communities and the importance of confidence building and popular endorsement of agreements reached.

We will continue to undertake this valuable work in the context of the ongoing process of reconciliation and co-operation on this island. Two-way lesson-sharing allows the Government to nurture peace and reconciliation on this island while at the same time providing a positive model for other countries seeking to resolve conflict and build peace and harmony in communities.

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