[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>