Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
PRISONERS
1. Both Governments will put in place
mechanisms to
provide for an accelerated programme
for the
release of prisoners, including
transferred prisoners,
convicted of scheduled offences in
Northern Ireland
or, in the case of those sentenced
outside Northern
Ireland, similar offences (referred to
hereafter as
qualifying prisoners). Any such
arrangements will
protect the rights of individual
prisoners under
national and international law.
2. Prisoners affiliated to
organisations which have not
established or are not maintaining a
complete and
unequivocal ceasefire will not benefit
from the
arrangements. The situation in this
regard will be kept
under review.
3. Both Governments will complete a
review process
within a fixed time frame and set
prospective release
dates for all qualifying prisoners.
The review process
would provide for the advance of the
release dates
of qualifying prisoners while allowing
account to be
taken of the seriousness of the
offences for which the
person was convicted and the need to
protect the
community. In addition, the intention
would be that
should the circumstances allow it, any
qualifying
prisoners who remained in custody two
years after
the commencement of the scheme would
be
released at that point.
4. The Governments will seek to enact
the
appropriate legislation to give effect
to these
arrangements by the end of June 1998.
5. The Governments continue to
recognise the
importance of measures to facilitate
the
reintegration of prisoners into the
community by
providing support both prior to and
after release,
including assistance directed towards
availing of
employment opportunities, re-training
and/or
re-skilling, and further education.
VALIDATION, IMPLEMENTATION AND
REVIEW
Validation and Implementation
1. The two Governments will as soon as
possible sign
a new British-Irish Agreement
replacing the 1985
Anglo-Irish Agreement, embodying
understandings
on constitutional issues and affirming
their solemn
commitment to support and, where
appropriate,
implement the agreement reached by the
participants in the negotiations which
shall be
annexed to the British-Irish
Agreement.
2. Each Government will organise a
referendum on
22 May 1998. Subject to Parliamentary
approval, a
consultative referendum in Northern
Ireland,
organised under the terms of the
Northern Ireland
(Entry to Negotiations, etc.) Act
1996, will address the
question: "Do you support the
agreement reached in
the multi-party talks on Northern
Ireland and set out
in Command Paper 3883?". The Irish
Government will
introduce and support in the
Oireachtas a Bill to
amend the Constitution as described in
paragraph 2
of the section "Constitutional Issues"
and in Annex B,
as follows: (a) to amend Articles 2
and 3 as described
in paragraph 8.1 in Annex B above and
(b) to amend
Article 29 to permit the Government to
ratify the new
British-Irish Agreement. On passage by
the Oireachtas,
the Bill will be put to referendum.
3. If majorities of those voting in
each of the
referendums support this agreement,
the
Governments will then introduce and
support, in their
respective Parliaments, such
legislation as may be
necessary to give effect to all
aspects of this
agreement, and will take whatever
ancillary steps as
may be required including the holding
of elections
on 25 June, subject to parliamentary
approval, to
the Assembly, which would meet
initially in a
"shadow" mode. The establishment of
the
North-South Ministerial Council,
implementation
bodies, the British-Irish Council and
the British-Irish
Intergovernmental Conference and the
assumption
by the Assembly of its legislative and
executive
powers will take place at the same
time on the entry
into force of the British-Irish
Agreement.
4. In the interim, aspects of the
implementation of
the multi-party agreement will be
reviewed at
meetings of those parties relevant in
the particular
case (taking into account, once
Assembly elections
have been held, the results of those
elections), under
the chairmanship of the British
Government or the
two Governments, as may be
appropriate; and
representatives of the two Governments
and all
relevant parties may meet under
independent
chairmanship to review implementation
of the
agreement as a whole.
Review procedures following
implementation
5. Each institution may, at any time,
review any
problems that may arise in its
operation and, where
no other institution is affected, take
remedial action
in consultation as necessary with the
relevant
Government or Governments. It will be
for each
institution to determine its own
procedures for
review.
6. If there are difficulties in the
operation of a
particular institution, which have
implications for
another institution, they may review
their operations
separately and jointly and agree on
remedial action
to be taken under their respective
authorities.
7. If difficulties arise which require
remedial action
across the range of institutions, or
otherwise require
amendment of the British-Irish
Agreement or relevant
legislation, the process of review
will fall to the two
Governments in consultation with the
parties in the
Assembly. Each Government will be
responsible for
action in its own jurisdiction.
8. Notwithstanding the above, each
institution will
publish an annual report on its
operations. In
addition, the two Governments and the
parties in
the Assembly will convene a conference
4 years after
the agreement comes into effect, to
review and
report on its operation.
AGREEMENT
BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF
THE UNITED KINGDOM OF
GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND
AND
THE GOVERNMENT
OF IRELAND
The British and Irish Governments:
Welcoming the strong commitment to the Agreement
reached on 10th
April 1998 by themselves and other participants in
the multi-party talks
and set out in Annex 1 to this Agreement (hereinafter
"the Multi-Party
Agreement");
Considering that the Multi-Party Agreement offers an
opportunity for a
new beginning in relationships within Northern
Ireland, within the island
of Ireland and between the peoples of these islands;
Wishing to develop still further the unique
relationship between their
peoples and the close co-operation between their
countries as friendly
neighbours and as partners in the European Union;
Reaffirming their total commitment to the principles
of democracy and
non-violence which have been fundamental to the
multi-party talks;
Reaffirming their commitment to the principles of
partnership, equality
and mutual respect and to the protection of civil,
political, social,
economic and cultural rights in their respective
jurisdictions;
Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1
The two Governments:
(i) recognise the legitimacy of whatever choice is
freely exercised by a
majority of the people of Northern Ireland with
regard to its status,
whether they prefer to continue to support the Union
with Great Britain
or a sovereign united Ireland;
(ii) recognise that it is for the people of the
island of Ireland alone, by
agreement between the two parts respectively and
without external
impediment, to exercise their right of
self-determination on the basis of
consent, freely and concurrently given, North and
South, to bring about
a united Ireland, if that is their wish, accepting
that this right must be
achieved and exercised with and subject to the
agreement and
consent of a majority of the people of Northern
Ireland;
(iii) acknowledge that while a substantial section of
the people in
Northern Ireland share the legitimate wish of a
majority of the people of
the island of Ireland for a united Ireland, the
present wish of a majority
of the people of Northern Ireland, freely exercised
and legitimate, is to
maintain the Union and accordingly, that Northern
Ireland's status as
part of the United Kingdom reflects and relies upon
that wish; and that
it would be wrong to make any change in the status of
Northern
Ireland save with the consent of a majority of its
people;
(iv) affirm that, if in the future, the people of the
island of Ireland
exercise their right of self-determination on the
basis set out in sections
(i) and (ii) above to bring about a united Ireland,
it will be a binding
obligation on both Governments to introduce and
support in their
respective Parliaments legislation to give effect to
that wish;
(v) affirm that whatever choice is freely exercised
by a majority of the
people of Northern Ireland, the power of the
sovereign government
with jurisdiction there shall be exercised with
rigorous impartiality on
behalf of all the people in the diversity of their
identities and traditions
and shall be founded on the principles of full
respect for, and equality
of, civil, political, social and cultural rights, of
freedom from
discrimination for all citizens, and of parity of
esteem and of just and
equal treatment for the identity, ethos and
aspirations of both
communities;
(vi) recognise the birthright of all the people of
Northern Ireland to
identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or
British, or both, as they
may so choose, and accordingly confirm that their
right to hold both
British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both
Governments and would
not be affected by any future change in the status of
Northern Ireland.
ARTICLE 2
The two Governments affirm their solemn commitment to
support, and
where appropriate implement, the provisions of the
Multi-Party
Agreement. In particular there shall be established
in accordance with
the provisions of the Multi-Party Agreement
immediately on the entry
into force of this Agreement, the following
institutions:
(i) a North/South Ministerial Council;
(ii) the implementation bodies referred to
in paragraph 9 (ii)
of the section entitled "Strand Two" of the
Multi-Party
Agreement;
(iii) a British-Irish Council;
(iv) a British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference.
ARTICLE 3
(1) This Agreement shall replace the Agreement
between the British and
Irish Governments done at Hillsborough on 15th
November 1985 which
shall cease to have effect on entry into force of
this Agreement.
(2) The Intergovernmental Conference established by
Article 2 of the
aforementioned Agreement done on 15th November 1985
shall cease
to exist on entry into force of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 4
(1) It shall be a requirement for entry into force of
this Agreement that:
(a) British legislation shall
have been enacted
for the purpose of implementing
the provisions
of Annex A to the section
entitled
"Constitutional Issues" of the
Multi-Party
Agreement;
(b) the amendments to the
Constitution of
Ireland set out in Annex B to the
section
entitled "Constitutional Issues"
of the Multi-Party
Agreement shall have been
approved by
Referendum;
(c) such legislation shall have
been enacted as
may be required to establish the
institutions
referred to in Article 2 of this
Agreement.
(2) Each Government shall notify the other in writing
of the completion,
so far as it is concerned, of the requirements for
entry into force of this
Agreement. This Agreement shall enter into force on
the date of the
receipt of the later of the two notifications.
(3) Immediately on entry into force of this
Agreement, the Irish
Government shall ensure that the amendments to the
Constitution of
Ireland set out in Annex B to the section entitled
"Constitutional Issues" of
the Multi-Party Agreement take effect.
In witness thereof the undersigned, being duly
authorised thereto by the
respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
Done in two originals at Belfast on the 10th day of
April 1998.
For the Government
of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern
Ireland
For the
Government
of Ireland
ANNEX 1
The Agreement Reached
in the Multi-Party Talks
ANNEX 2
Declaration on the Provisions of
Paragraph (vi) of Article 1
In Relationship to Citizenship
The British and Irish Governments declare that it is
their joint
understanding that the term "the people of Northern
Ireland" in
paragraph (vi) of Article 1 of this Agreement means,
for the purposes of
giving effect to this provision, all persons born in
Northern Ireland and
having, at the time of their birth, at least one
parent who is a British
citizen, an Irish citizen or is otherwise entitled to
reside in Northern
Ireland without any restriction on their period of
residence.
--
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