[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 94 (Wednesday, July 13, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8244-S8245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


.


                     GOOD FRIDAY AGREEMENT OF 1998

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Committee on Foreign Relations be discharged from further consideration 
of S. Res. 173 and that the Senate proceed to its immediate 
consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 173) expressing support for the Good 
     Friday Agreement of 1998 as the blueprint for lasting peace 
     in Northern Ireland.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.

[[Page S8245]]

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support S. Res. 
173, which Senators Collins, Dodd, McCain, Biden, Leahy and I 
introduced to express support for the 1998 Good Friday Agreement as the 
blueprint for lasting peace in Northern Ireland. All of us are hopeful 
that a constructive way forward will be found, and the best way to do 
so is by continuing to implement the Good Friday Agreement.
  The 1998 Agreement was endorsed in a referendum by the overwhelming 
majority of people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The 
parties to the Agreement made a clear commitment to ``partnership, 
equality, and mutual respect'' as the basis for moving forward to end 
the longstanding conflict and achieve lasting peace for all the people 
of Northern Ireland. The parties affirmed their ``total and absolute 
commitment to exclusively democratic and peaceful means'' to achieve 
the goal of peace.
  Our resolution reiterates our support for the Good Friday Agreement 
as the way forward in Northern Ireland. It rejects the statement of 
Democratic Unionist leader Ian Paisley, who said in May that the 
Agreement ``should be given a reasonable burial.'' Inclusive power 
sharing based on the defining qualities of the Agreement is essential 
to the viability and success of the peace process.
  The resolution calls on the Irish Republican Army to immediately 
complete the process of decommissioning, cease to exist as a 
paramilitary organization, and end its involvement in any way in 
paramilitary and criminal activity. We know that discussion of the 
issue is underway within the IRA, and we all await a final, positive, 
and decisive action.
  In addition, the resolution calls on the Democratic Unionist Party in 
Northern Ireland to share power with all the other parties, according 
to the democratic mandate of the Good Friday Agreement, and commit to 
work in good faith with all the institutions established under the 
Agreement, including the Executive and the North-South Ministerial 
Council, for the benefit of all the people of Northern Ireland.
  It calls on Sinn Fein to work in good faith with the police service 
of Northern Ireland.
  It also calls for justice in the case of Robert McCartney, the 
Belfast citizen who was brutally murdered there in January.
  Finally, the resolution calls on the British Government to 
permanently restore the democratic institutions of Northern Ireland, 
complete the process of demilitarization in Northern Ireland, and 
advance equality and human rights in Northern Ireland.
  The United States Government continues to strongly support the peace 
process in Northern Ireland. The Government of the United Kingdom and 
the Government of Ireland continue to strongly support the Good Friday 
Agreement as the way forward.
  The Good Friday Agreement is the only way forward in Northern 
Ireland, and it deserves our strong support. I urge my colleagues to 
approve this resolution.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to 
reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, 
and that any statements relating to the resolution be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 173) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 173

       Whereas in 1998, 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;
       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 and criminal activity 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 the United States Government continues to strongly 
     support the peace process in Northern Ireland; and
       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: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate reiterates its support for the Good Friday 
     Agreement, signed on April 10, 1998, in Belfast, as the 
     blueprint for a lasting peace in Northern Ireland; and
       (2) it is the sense of the Senate that--
       (A) the Irish Republican Army must immediately--
       (i) complete the process of decommissioning;
       (ii) cease to exist as a paramilitary organization; and
       (iii) end its involvement in any way in paramilitary and 
     criminal activity;
       (B) the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland 
     must--
       (i) share power with all parties according to the 
     democratic mandate of the Good Friday Agreement; and
       (ii) commit to work in good faith with all the institutions 
     of the Good Friday Agreement, which established an inclusive 
     Executive and the North-South Ministerial Council, for the 
     benefit of all the people of Northern Ireland;
       (C) Sinn Fein must work in good faith with the Police 
     Service of Northern Ireland;
       (D) the leadership of Sinn Fein must insist that those 
     responsible for the murder of Robert McCartney and those who 
     were witnesses to the murder--
       (i) cooperate directly with the Police Service of Northern 
     Ireland; and
       (ii) be protected fully from any retaliation by the Irish 
     Republican Army; and
       (E) the Government of the United Kingdom must--
       (i) permanently restore the democratic institutions of 
     Northern Ireland;
       (ii) complete the process of demilitarization in Northern 
     Ireland; and
       (iii) advance equality and human rights agendas in Northern 
     Ireland.

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