Gilmore: No deal on human rights

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore brought a close to Ireland’s year-long presidency of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) saying he was disappointed that agreement was not reached among nations on human rights concerns.

Mr Gilmore said proposals on digital media freedom as well as combating racism and xenophobia could not be agreed by members of the inter-governmental security organisation.

His comments came after more than 50 foreign ministers concluded two days of peace-keeping talks in Dublin.

Earlier this week, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said that there were concerns about the future of the OSCE, which was originally set up to oversee border agreements during the Cold War.

OSCE secretary general Lamberto Zanier said it had been a challenging but successful year for the organisation and he praised Ireland’s chairmanship of the group.

Earlier, European Affairs Minister Lucinda Creighton said that important decisions were made by members this week on policing, justice and law enforcement at meetings.