Afghan Parliamentarians on Lesson-Sharing Visit to Ireland

An Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha Preas Ráiteas

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Afghan Parliamentarians on Lesson-Sharing Visit to Ireland

The Department of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, will this week host a lesson-sharing visit for a cross-party group of members of the Afghan National Assembly.

The Conflict Resolution Unit of the Department of Foreign Affairs has organised a briefing session in Dublin Castle on May 5^{th, which will include an overview of the Northern Ireland peace process and a discussion of a number of issues including power-sharing, policing, community relations and the International Fund for Ireland.}

The visit will also include a meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, in Iveagh House, a meeting with the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs in Leinster House, and a courtesy call on President McAleese in Áras an Uachtaráin. The delegation will spend some time at the Glencree Centre before travelling to Belfast to meet with political and civil society leaders there.

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, T.D., said:

"Ireland has many lessons to share from its long history of conflict and the Northern Ireland peace process. We are conscious that each country must find its own path to peace, and that there is no correct ‘one-size-fits-all’ path to take. However, it has also been our experience that international support can be invaluable in securing peace, and we hope to play our part through sharing our experiences of conflict and peace-making with others."

"We are at an important juncture where Afghanistan is concerned.  The Presidential elections scheduled for 20 August represent a critical opportunity for the Afghan people. Given their importance, we must do everything we can to support them and to ensure that they are conducted in a credible manner."

Note for the Editor:

The visit is part of the Afghanistan Parliamentary Assistance Project (APAP), a capacity-building project of the Centre for International Development in State University, New York. The CID/SUNY has a strong record on strengthening parliamentary capacity and has programmes in Kenya, Morocco, Uganda, Haiti, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Serbia, Jordan and the West Bank. SUNY/CID helped create a Parliamentary Budget Office in the Afghan National Assembly, under APAP.

The visit has been organised by the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, an Irish NGO dedicated to building peace and fostering reconciliation by facilitating dialogues and creating peace education resources.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is hosting the visit under the lesson-sharing programme of the Conflict Resolution Unit. The Conflict Resolution Unit was established in 2007 to lead work on enhancing Ireland’s engagement in conflict resolution activities internationally. A key element of the CRU’s work is sharing lessons from the Northern Ireland peace process with other countries experiencing and emerging from conflict.

Ireland has provided €19 million in relief, reconstruction and development assistance to Afghanistan since 2005. This is used to support the World Bank administered Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund, mine clearance through the NGO HALO Trust, as well as humanitarian and development programmes of NGOs and UN agencies. Ireland has also participated in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan since 2002 through a small contingent (7 members) located in Kabul and engaged in non-combat functions.

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04 May 2009

Press Office