In 2004, negotiations took place between the two governments, the DUP and Sinn Féin, on an agreement to restore the institutions. These talks failed, but a document published by governments detailing changes to the Belfast Agreement became known as the “Global Agreement”. However, on 26 September 2005, it was announced that the Provisional Irish Republican Army had completely decommissioned and “decommissioned” its arsenal. Nevertheless, many trade unionists, in particular the DUP, remained sceptical. Of the loyalist paramilitaries, only the Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) had decommissioned weapons. [21] Further negotiations took place in October 2006 for the St Andrews Agreement. A 2018 report by The Economist takes stock of the situation in Northern Ireland twenty years after the peace agreement. The old text contains only four articles; it is this short text that is the legal agreement, but it includes the latter agreement in its annexes. [7] Technically, this envisaged agreement can be distinguished as a multi-party agreement as opposed to the Belfast Agreement itself. [7] Although the peace process was initially largely trouble-free, tensions escalated in 2001 with the increase in sectarian conflicts, riots, political disagreements, and the dismantling process. Real IRA bombs on the BBC and a business district in London threatened to derail the peace process. [12] [13] The dispute over the Holy Cross in North Belfast, which began in June 2001, would become a major episode of sectarian conflict.

Widespread riots broke out in July[14] and in the same month the Loyalist Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) withdrew from the Good Friday Agreement, while the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP) withdrew from the “current phase” of the peace process. [15] On July 26, two ulster Unionist Party (UUP) hardliners, David Burnside and Jeffrey Donaldson, both called for their party`s withdrawal to support Stormont`s new power-sharing assembly. [16] The negotiations were choreographed until the climax of Good Friday – April 10, 1998 – and Easter symbolism was used to win support for the agreement. Last week was choreographed by both governments to give “victories” to all pro-deal parties to maximize public support. The agreement provided for the establishment of an independent commission to review the provisions of the police in Northern Ireland “including ways to promote broad community support” for these arrangements. The UK government has also committed to a “wide-ranging review” of the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland. The leadership of Óglaigh na hÉireann officially ordered the end of the armed campaign. This applies this afternoon from 4 p..m. All IRA units were ordered to drop weapons. All volunteers were instructed to support the development of purely political and democratic programmes by exclusively peaceful means.

Volunteers are not allowed to participate in other activities. The IRA leadership has also authorized our representative to work with the IICD to complete the process of demonstrative dismantling of its weapons in a way that further enhances public confidence and complements it as soon as possible. We have invited two independent witnesses from the Protestant and Catholic Churches to testify to this. The Army Council made these decisions after an unprecedented process of discussion and internal consultation with IRA units and volunteers. We appreciate the honest and open way in which the consultation process was conducted, as well as the depth and content of the submissions. We are proud of the camarade way in which this truly historic discussion was conducted. The results of our consultations show very strong support from IRA volunteers for Sinn Féin`s peace strategy. There is also concern about the inability of both Governments and unionists to participate fully in the peace process.

This has led to real difficulties. The overwhelming majority of Irish people fully support this process. You and the friends of Irish unity around the world want to see the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. Despite these difficulties, our decisions were taken to advance our republican and democratic goals, including our goal of a united Ireland. We believe that there is now another way to achieve this and to end British rule in our country. It is the responsibility of all volunteers to demonstrate leadership, determination and courage. We are very aware of the victims of our patriotic deaths, of those who went to prison, of the volunteers, of their families and of the republican base at large. We reaffirm our view that armed struggle is perfectly legitimate. We are aware that many people have suffered from the conflict. There is an imperative on all sides to build a just and lasting peace. The question of defending the nationalist and republican communities was raised with us. It is the responsibility of society to ensure that the pogroms of 1969 and the early 1970s are not repeated.

There is also a universal responsibility to fight sectarianism in all its forms. The IRA is fully committed to the goals of Irish unity and independence and the building of the Republic, as described in the Proclamation of 1916. We call for maximum unity and effort on the part of Irish Republicans around the world. We are convinced that by working together, Irish Republicans can achieve our goals. Every volunteer is aware of the importance of the decisions we have made, and all Óglaigh are obliged to fully obey these orders. There is now an unprecedented opportunity to harness the tremendous energy and goodwill that exists for the peace process. This comprehensive set of unprecedented initiatives is our contribution in this regard and to the ongoing efforts to achieve the independence and unity of the Irish people. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement provided a framework for a political settlement in Northern Ireland, which focused on power-sharing between unionists and nationalists.

It was signed by the British and Irish governments, as well as four of Northern Ireland`s main political parties: Sinn Fein, the Ulster Unionist Party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party and the Alliance Party. Of the main parties, only the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) abstained. Although the agreement confirms that Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom, it provides that Ireland could be united if it is supported by a majority vote in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. On the Unionist side, the “no” campaign was much stronger, emphasizing what was presented as concessions to republicanism and terrorism, particularly the release from prison of convicted paramilitaries (often those who had killed friends and relatives of Unionist politicians and were serving “life” sentences), the presence of “terrorists” (by which they meant Sinn Féin) in the government, the lack of guarantees for dismantling, the perceived one-sided nature of the process towards a united Ireland, the lack of confidence in all those who would implement the agreement, the erosion of British identity, the destruction of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the vague language of the agreement and the hasty manner in which the agreement was drafted. The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement (Irish: Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or Comhaontú Bhéal Feirste; Ulster-Scots: Guid Friday Greeance or Bilfawst Greeance),[1] is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, a political conflict in Northern Ireland that had taken place since the late 1960s. This was an important development in the peace process in Northern Ireland in the 1990s. Northern Ireland`s current system of devolved government is based on the agreement. The Agreement also created a number of institutions between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The agreement contained a complex set of provisions relating to a number of areas, including: In an unwritten moment, MP Jeffrey Donaldson left the negotiations. He then joined the Democratic Unionist Party, led by Ian Paisley, who had always opposed the deal. The pro-deal campaign presented the issue as progress against the status quo, as a struggle between intolerant fanatics without solutions on the one hand and moderates with a constructive path forward on the other. The agreement was presented to the nationalist community as a civil right, including government, recognition of their Irish character and a peaceful path to Irish reunification.

For the Unionist community, it was presented as the end of the unrest, as a guaranteed end of the paramilitaries and their weapons, and as the Union`s guarantee for the foreseeable future. There was a massive government-funded “yes” campaign, with large posters plastered all over Northern Ireland. One of these posters featured five handwritten “promises” by Prime Minister Tony Blair to preserve the unionist “yes” – despite the fact that no wording of these “promises” was actually included in the deal presented to voters. These “promises” were as follows: “The Prime Minister said that without any form of inter-community provision, the agreement would fall apart. A majority of Northern Ireland`s population – almost 56% – voted to keep Britain in the EU. The DUP was the only one of Northern Ireland`s major parties to support Brexit. Since 1995, the EU has provided Northern Ireland with more than €1 billion a year for peacebuilding and reconciliation programmes. Despite Brexit, the current €270 million funding programme is due to last until the end of 2021. During the referendum campaign that followed the April deal, the views of unionists against the deal changed when it emerged that the IRA would not have to be downgraded until prisoners were released or Sinn Féin was in government. .