Ireland is "ready" to take on the chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2012, the Government confirmed today.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said Ireland had received approaches from “many member states” of the organisation to take the role.
He said a final decision would be made at a meeting next week in Athens, which is being hosted by the current OCSE chair, Greece.
The OCSE, which was established in 1994, has 56 members, including all EU states, the US, Canada and Russia. It is designed to aid prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation in Europe, Central Asia and North America.
It deals with a wide range of security issues, including arms control, preventive diplomacy, confidence and security building measures, human rights, election monitoring and economic and environmental security.
The chair is held by a member state for one year on the basis of consensus. It will be held by Kazakhstan next year and Lithuania in 2011.