25 Years Of Good Friday Agreement

Subject : International Relations

Section: Msc

Concept :

US President visited Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

What were The Troubles?

Northern Ireland was created in 1921 and in 1922 the rest of Ireland gained independence from the British (the today’s Republic of Ireland, with its capital in Dublin).
Northern Ireland remained with the UK, but tensions simmered between those who wished to remain with the UK (Protestants) and those who wanted to join Ireland (Catholics).
By the 1960s, the Protestants had become more powerful and the Catholics started facing discrimination.
The violence erupted between both factions – The Troubles, claiming the lives of more than 3,500 people.

Good Friday Agreement

The Good Friday Agreement was signed on April 10, 1998, between factions of Northern Ireland, and the governments of Britain and Ireland, to end decades of violence in Northern Ireland among those who wished to remain with the United Kingdom (UK) and those who wanted to join Ireland.
The negotiators included then British Prime Minister Tony Blair, then Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, George Mitchell, a former Democratic senator who acted as the envoy of then US President Bill Clinton, and eight parties from Northern Ireland.

Terms of the Good Friday Agreement

Northern Ireland would remain part of the UK, but could join Ireland if, in a referendum, a majority of people on both sides voted for it.
People born in Northern Ireland could have Irish or British nationality or both.
Weapons by paramilitary groups would have to be decommissioned, but people in jail for violence so far would be released.
Northern Ireland would get a new government, where both the nationalists and unionists would be represented.
This devolved government would sit at Stormont and have powers over most local matters, while the UK government would look after security, foreign policy, tax laws, immigration rules, etc.
On May 22, 1998, a referendum was held in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and the agreement was approved by 94 per cent of voters in Ireland and 71 per cent in Northern Ireland.