On July 22, the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach asked me to facilitate an intensive review of the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. Their mandate to me was:
The review will take as its starting point the three principles agreed by all pro-Agreement parties on 25 June:
- an inclusive Executive exercising devolved powers;
- decommissioning of all paramilitary arms by May 2000;
- decommissioning to be carried out in a manner determined by the International Commission on Decommissioning; and will determine how to overcome the difficulties which exist in the practical implementation of those principles. This will be its only focus.
Beginning in July and continuing through September and October, I met with the leaders of eleven of the political parties. The anti-Agreement parties restated their sincere opposition to the Good Friday Agreement and to its implementation.
As a result, most of my meetings have been with the seven pro-Agreement parties, each of which confirmed its support for and commitment to: (1) the Good Friday Agreement; (2) the Mitchell Principles of democracy and non-violence; and (3) the three principles, set forth above, which were agreed on June 25. On the basis of these intensive discussions, conducted over the period of nine weeks, I am convinced that these parties are sincere and acting in good faith in seeking the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. They want devolution and decommissioning. The problem, of course, is that there are differences among the parties on how those objectives can be achieved.
My meetings with the parties are well advanced. Consultation with them is the most important but is not the only part of the review. Before advancing it further, I must meet with the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach, since they initiated the review. In addition, I must obtain the assessment of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, since two of the three principles agreed on June 25 relate to decommissioning; one of them refers specifically to the Commission. Accordingly, I have asked the Commission for its assessment.
I will meet the Taoiseach in Dublin later today, with the Prime Minister in London to morrow, and with President Clinton later in the week. I will renew my meetings with the parties in Belfast on Monday. I expect to have my report ready shortly thereafter.