These issues – parades, flags and legacy of the past – were negotiated in 2013, chaired by Richard N. Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, and Meghan L. O`Sullivan, a professor at Harvard Kennedy School and now a member of the CFR board of trustees. The talks, which involved the five main political parties, failed to reach an agreement, although many proposals — including the creation of a historic investigative unit to investigate unresolved deaths during the conflict and a commission to help victims obtain information about the deaths of relatives — were a big part of the Stormont House deal. carried out in 2014. The agreement reached was that Northern Ireland was and would remain a part of the United Kingdom until a majority of the population of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland wanted something else. If this happens, the UK and Irish governments will have a “binding obligation” to implement this decision. 1. The two Governments will sign, as soon as possible, a new British-Irish Agreement replacing the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, which contains agreements on constitutional matters and reaffirms their solemn commitment to support and, where appropriate, implement the Agreement reached by the participants in the negotiations annexed to the United Kingdom-Ireland Agreement. On 10 April 1998, the so-called Good Friday Agreement (or Belfast Agreement) was signed. This agreement helped end a period of conflict in the region known as the Troubles. 3.
Accordingly, all participants reaffirm their commitment to the complete disarmament of all paramilitary organizations. They also reaffirm their intention to continue to cooperate constructively and in good faith with the Independent Commission and to use any influence they may have to achieve the dismantling of all paramilitary weapons within two years of the approval of the Agreement by referendum in the north and south of the Agreement and in the context of the implementation of the general regime. Some commentators have called the agreement “Sunningdale for slow learners,” suggesting that it was nothing more than what was offered in the 1973 Sunningdale Agreement. [22] This claim has been criticized by political scientists such as Richard Wilford and Stefan Wolff. The former noted that “there are significant differences between them [Sunningdale and Belfast], both in terms of the content and circumstances of their negotiation, implementation and operation”. [23] The result of these referendums was a large majority in both parts of Ireland in favour of the agreement. In the republic, 56% of voters voted, with 94% of the vote in favour of the constitutional amendment. Turnout in Northern Ireland was 81%, with 71% in favour of the deal. Although Prime Minister Johnson and Irish leaders have promised to protect the Good Friday deal, some Brexiteers have taken the opportunity to criticise the deal`s power-sharing institutions, arguing that the pact is outdated. Some DUP members who opposed the agreement in 1998 also questioned the agreements reached there.
23. As a condition of appointment, Ministers, including the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, reaffirm the terms of an ex officio promise (Appendix A) in which they undertake to carry out effectively and in good faith all responsibilities associated with their duties. The vague wording of some of the provisions, described as “constructive ambiguity”[8], helped to ensure acceptance of the agreement and postponed debate on some of the most contentious issues. These include paramilitary dismantling, police reform and the standardisation of Northern Ireland. In addition, the UK government has committed to creating a new statutory equality commission to replace the Fair Employment Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission (NI), the Racial Equality Commission (NI) and the Disability Council. The establishment of the Equality Commission was provided for in the Northern Ireland Act (1998). The Commission was finally established on 1 March 19992 “The Good Friday Agreement: Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission”, BBC News, May 2006, accessed 21 January 2013, www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/agreement/equality/hr2.shtm. was put into operation on 1 September 1999.3 “The Good Friday Agreement: Equality Commission for Northern Ireland”, BBC News, May 2006, accessed 21 January 2013, www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/agreement/equality/equality. The Good Friday Agreement provided for an elected assembly of 108 members in Northern Ireland. The Assembly would be able to exercise executive and legislative power and would be subject to safeguards to protect the rights and interests of all parts of the Community. According to the Agreement, the Assembly should be elected according to the system of single transferable votes of proportional representation. In a spirit of safeguarding the interests and rights of all parties, the agreement also provided for a proportional distribution of committee members in the Assembly.
The two main political parties in the deal were the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) led by David Trimble and the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) led by John Hume. The two Heads of State and Government jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998. The other parties involved in reaching a deal were Sinn Féin, the Alliance Party and the Progressive Unionist Party. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which later became the largest Unionist party, did not support the deal. She left the talks when Sinn Féin and the loyalist parties joined because republican and loyalist paramilitary weapons had not been downgraded. The agreement was reached between the British and Irish governments and eight political parties or groups in Northern Ireland. Three were representative of unionism: the Ulster Unionist Party, which had led unionism in Ulster since the beginning of the 20th century, and two small parties associated with loyalist paramilitaries, the Progressive Unionist Party (associated with the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF)) and the Ulster Democratic Party (the political wing of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA)). Two were commonly referred to as nationalists: the Social Democratic and Labour Party and Sinn Féin, the Republican Party linked to the Provisional Irish Republican Army. [4] [5] Regardless of these rival traditions, there were two other assembly parties, the Inter-Community Alliance Party and the Northern Ireland Women`s Coalition. There was also the Labour Coalition. U.S. Senator George J.
Mitchell was sent by U.S. President Bill Clinton to chair talks between parties and groups. [6] Under the proposed agreement, the government has published a number of financial and other commitments, as has the UK government. The Irish government`s commitments include working with the North-South Ministerial Council to implement projects that benefit people across the island, including improving connectivity in the north and south and investing in the North West region and border communities. .
