Referendums were held in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on 22 May 1998. In Northern Ireland, people were asked, “Do you support the agreement reached in the multi-party talks on Northern Ireland and set out in Command Document 3883?” Turnout in the referendum was 81.1%, of which 71.1% supported the agreement. In the Republic of Ireland, people were asked, “Do you agree with the proposed amendment to the Constitution contained in the bill mentioned below, nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution Act 1998?” Turnout in the referendum was 55.6%, of which 94.4% supported the proposed constitutional amendment.1 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 been celebrating since the beginning of the 20th century. 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)) were linked to loyalist paramilitaries. 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] 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. Taking into account the policing principles set out in the agreement, the Commission will examine policing in Northern Ireland and, on the basis of its findings, present proposals for future police structures and arrangements, including ways to promote broad Community support for these schemes. “It is up to the Irish people alone to reach an agreement between the two parties or the Irish people. without external obstacles, to exercise its right to self-determination on the basis of the free and simultaneous consent of the North and the South in order to create a united Ireland which accepts that this right must be realised and exercised with and subject to the consent and consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland. 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. 12. The above-mentioned special procedure shall be applied at the request of the executive committee or the competent committee of the department, which shall vote throughout the Community. The agreement provided for the establishment of an independent commission to review police regulation in Northern Ireland, “including ways to promote broad community support” for these arrangements.

The UK government has also committed to a “comprehensive review” of the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland. The direct London regime ended in Northern Ireland when power was formally transferred to the new Northern Ireland Assembly, the North/South Council of Ministers and the British-Irish Council when the Orders relating to the British-Irish Agreement entered into force on 2 December 1999. [15] [16] [17] In accordance with Article 4(2) of the British-Irish Agreement (the Agreement between the British and Irish Governments on the implementation of the Belfast Agreement), the two governments have notified each other in writing of compliance with the conditions for the entry into force of the British-Irish Agreement. The entry into force took place with the receipt of the two communications of the latter communication. [18] The British government agreed to attend a televised ceremony at Iveagh House in Dublin, the Irish Foreign Office. Peter Mandelson, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, attended early in the morning of 2 December 1999. He exchanged views with David Andrews, Ireland`s foreign minister. Shortly after the ceremony, at 10.30.m., the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, signed the declaration formally amending Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish Constitution. He then announced to Dáil that the British-Irish Agreement had entered into force (including certain agreements additional to the Belfast Agreement). [7] [19] Political stability in Relation to Belfast began to dissipate in 2017 when an energy scandal triggered the resignation of Martin McGuinness from Sinn Fein as Deputy Prime Minister. This caused the collapse of the executive and led to new elections for the Assembly in March 2017.

The DUP remained the largest single party, but its lead over Sinn Fein fell to a single seat, a result that indicates demographic changes in Northern Ireland: in the last census [PDF] in 2011, the Catholic minority community had risen to 45% of the population, while Protestants were no longer in the majority at 48%. The stalemate also showed deep divisions over Brexit, which the unionist DUP favoured and Sinn Fein (along with other major parties) rejected. 1. The Participants note that the development of a peaceful environment on the basis of this Agreement can and should mean the standardization of security arrangements and practices. (b) decisions taken by a simple majority of the voting members, unless a trans-Community decision is required; In 2010, the signing of the Hillsborough Agreement allowed for the transfer of police and judicial powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly, which began later that year. It also included an agreement on the controversial parades that had led to ongoing conflicts between communities. The idea of the agreement was to get the two sides to work together in a group called the Northern Ireland Assembly. The Assembly would take certain decisions previously taken by the British Government in London. 1. The participants shall recall their agreement within 24.

On 11 January 2020, on the basis of the new decade, the agreement on the new approach, the Executive and the Assembly of Shared Power were reinstated, with the participation of the five main political parties in Northern Ireland. 1. This Agreement provides for a democratically elected assembly in Northern Ireland, whose composition is inclusive, capable of exercising executive and legislative power and subject to safeguards aimed at protecting the rights and interests of all parties to the Community. To implement the recommendations of the Patten Commission, Foreign Minister John Reid issued a 75-page police plan on 17 August 2001. The plan included detailed progress in the areas of the ombudsman, the appointment of a supervisor, the reduction of the size of the police, and the selection of new recruits on a 50:50 basis. A new police board was established in September. On 4 November 2001, the Royal Ulster Constabulary changed its name to the Northern Ireland Police Service. On 12 December, the Police Department also changed a badge for the new service and the emblem.1 “Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland”, retrieved on 29 January 2013, www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/agreement/policing/commissi. The British-Irish Agreement is an agreement between the British and Irish Governments. The agreement was binding on the various institutions set out in the multi-party agreement. It also sets out the common position of the two governments on the current and future status of Northern Ireland.

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 in referendums north and south of the agreement and in the context of the implementation of the comprehensive regime. .