Sir, – Leo Sharkey’s letter on a strategy to end the war in Ukraine (“A peacemaking role for Ireland”, June 3rd) initiates a conversation that deserves to be continued. Sharkey suggests that Ireland’s ability to play a role is enhanced by our neutrality, our EU presidency and our experience of theBelfast Agreement. He speaks of “peace with a moral horizon”. But what is the horizon?
In an earlier period of detente, the Helsinki process was conceived as a contribution to effective multilateralism and an act of responsibility towards the global community. This year, the current embodiment of that process, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), has agreed on an annual budget for the first time in several years.
The chair-in-office, Switzerland’s foreign minister, has been to Kyiv and Moscow. His Finnish predecessor stated in December that “the Helsinki principles and the concept of comprehensive security remain valid and vital”.
A ceasefire in Ukraine may come to involve, as well as other security provisions, a mandated OSCE monitoring mission. The OSCE is likely to play a part in postwar reconstruction, building on its existing support programme for Ukraine. The smaller-scale “benign projects” which Sharkey advocates as stepping stones to bigger decisions correspond closely to what in the OSCE are described as “confidence-building measures”.
RM Block
A global perspective is even more urgent today than during the Cold War. Pope Leo’s recent encyclical calls for the renewal of multilateral diplomacy; only movement in this direction can provide an adequate context in which to address the challenges posed by AI.
Following the recent UN General Assembly resolution endorsing the ICJ’s advisory opinion on climate change and human rights, the road back to an effective rule of law in international relations is likely to require a greater focus on climate justice.
“Peace with a moral horizon,” as advocated by Leo Sharkey, should ultimately bring the regional and global agendas together. The OSCE is a ready-made space for this work to begin. – Yours, etc,
PHILIP MCDONAGH,
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences,
Director, Centre for Religion, Human Values, and International Relations,
Dublin City University.
