[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 134 (Wednesday, September 7, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H5112]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        STORMONT HOUSE AGREEMENT

  (Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, last month the Tom Lantos Human Rights 
Commission, which I co-chair, hosted a briefing by women from Belfast 
on the aftermath of the Northern Ireland conflict in which 3,500 people 
died, 90 percent of them men. Women survived to pick up the pieces.
  The 1998 Good Friday agreement that ended the war protected human 
rights going forward but did not address the past, so the needs of 
victims of human rights violations committed by both sides are still 
unmet.
  Women in Northern Ireland who have supported survivors have now 
developed gender principles for dealing with the legacy of the past. 
The 2014 Stormont House Agreement could help victims and survivors 
access truth, justice, and reparations.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all those concerned with human rights, peace, and 
security in Northern Ireland to encourage the British and Irish 
Governments and the Northern Ireland Assembly to fully implement the 
legacy parts of the Stormont House Agreement incorporating the gender 
principles.

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