Reiterates the House of Representatives' support for the Good Friday Agreement as the blueprint for a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.
Commends: (1) the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair and the Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for their leadership in seeing to a peaceful resolution in Northern Ireland; (2) the Sinn Fein leadership in successfully urging the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to end its armed struggle and put its weapons beyond use; and (3) the leadership of Sir Hugh S. Orde, Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that: (1) all groups and organizations should end their involvement in paramilitary activity; (2) all Northern Ireland political parties should agree to share power according to the democratic mandate of the Good Friday Agreement, commit to work in good faith with all the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement, and work toward participating with the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and (3) the government of the United Kingdom and the government of Ireland should work to fully implement the Good Friday Agreement.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 555 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 555
Expressing support for the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 as the
blueprint for lasting peace in Northern Ireland.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 15, 2005
Mr. Walsh (for himself, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, Mr. King of New
York, Mr. Crowley, Mrs. McCarthy, Mr. McCotter, Mr. Higgins, Mr.
Sweeney, and Mr. Payne) submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 as the
blueprint for lasting peace in Northern Ireland.
Whereas the Good Friday Agreement, signed on April 10, 1998, in Belfast, was
endorsed in a referendum by the overwhelming majority of people in
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland;
Whereas the parties to the Good Friday Agreement made a clear commitment to
``partnership, equality, and mutual respect'' as the basis for moving
forward in pursuit of lasting peace in Northern Ireland;
Whereas the parties to the Good Friday Agreement also affirmed their ``total and
absolute commitment to exclusively democratic and peaceful means'' in
pursuit of lasting peace in Northern Ireland;
Whereas inclusive power-sharing based on these defining qualities is essential
to the viability and advancement of the democratic process in Northern
Ireland;
Whereas paramilitary activity by both traditions in a democratic society
undermines the trust and confidence that are essential in a political
system based on inclusive power-sharing in Northern Ireland;
Whereas on September 26, 2005, the International Independent Commission on
Decommissioning (IICD) confirmed the Irish Republican Army had destroyed
its full arsenal of weapons;
Whereas the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of Ireland
continue to strongly support the Good Friday Agreement as the way
forward in the peace process and have committed themselves to its
implementation; and
Whereas the Government of the United States continues to strongly support the
peace process in Northern Ireland: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That--
(1) the House of Representatives--
(A) reiterates its support for the Good Friday
Agreement as the blueprint for a lasting peace in
Northern Ireland;
(B) commends the Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom Tony Blair and the Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern
for their leadership and persistence in seeing to a
peaceful resolution in Northern Ireland;
(C) commends the Sinn Fein leadership in
successfully urging the Irish Republican Army to end
its armed struggle and verifiably put its weapons
beyond use; and
(D) commends the leadership of Sir Hugh S. Orde,
Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern
Ireland; and
(2) it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
(A) all groups and organizations should end their
involvement in paramilitary activity;
(B) all political parties in Northern Ireland
should--
(i) agree to share power with all parties
according to the democratic mandate of the Good
Friday Agreement;
(ii) commit to work in good faith with all
the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement,
which established the Northern Ireland Assembly
and an inclusive Executive, the North-South
Ministerial Council, and the British-Irish
Inter-Governmental Conference, for the benefit
of all the people of Northern Ireland; and
(iii) work toward participating with the
Police Service of Northern Ireland; and
(C) the Government of the United Kingdom and the
Government of Ireland should work to achieve full
implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, including
devolution of policing and justice as well as
normalization of the security presence.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on International Relations.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line