Good Friday Agreement Institutions and Reforms

Civic Forum Strand One of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement provided for the establishment of a Civic Forum, comprising representatives of the business, trade union and voluntary sectors, to act as a consultative mechanism on social, economic and cultural issues. The Forum never worked as planned, it was unable to fully assert itself against a strong group of objectors inside and outside the assembly Viewed as a cosmetic exercise which which was both pointless and powerless and only succeeded in adding a layer of bureaucracy to proceedings- “Fisher Price parliament for lap dogs and do gooders” The Forum, in theory, was a clever idea of the GFA

NI Human Rights Commission The NIHRC is a statutory body created by the Good Friday Agreement, 1998 but was only set up in 1999. It has a range of functions including reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness in Northern Ireland of law and practice relating to the protection of human rights. Adds a layer of bureaucracy to proceedings and there is the possibility it could be used to drag up the past and put another hurdle in front of the executive Many unionists expected this to be a mainly nationalist tool but unionists are taking part with DUP councillor Jonathon Bell lending his name to proceedings Faced recent criticism through the Holy Cross case where the case they dragged through the courts was deemed “a waste of time and money”.

Victim’s Commission An organisation set up to voice the views and opinions of the people perceived to be victims of the troubles The main criticism of this is that it is a tool used to constantly dig up the past and puts a barrier in front of people trying to move on from the pain they faced Many disagreements over who to appoint as a commissioner e.g Patricia McBride’s appointment, the sister of an IRA man shot dead by the SAS , angered many unionists However the creation of this committee does show that the Executive isn’t just trying to “institutionalise” the past and will help the “victims”

Equality Commission The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is an independent public body established under the Northern Ireland Act 1998. Wants to advance equality, promote equality of opportunity, encourage good relations and challenge discrimination through promotion, advice and enforcement. Like the NIHCR adds another layer of unwanted bureaucracy to an Assembly that is already slow on getting things done Criticised for using up more money than is needed due to delays in decision making and identifying problems

Consultative Group on the Past The Consultative Group on the Past is an independent group established to consult across the community on the best way to deal with the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland. It has finished its public consultation and produced a report saying the last 30 years should be remembered as a “war”, a statement which has angered many unionists Wants the HET to have finished their investigation of deaths during the Troubles within 5 years even though the HET estimate it will take 10 It has highlighted to each community how the other feels and to what extent the pain of the Troubles still exists, recommending loyalist decommissioning and a full Republican apology to RUC and UDR members, not just “non-combatants”

Prisoner Releases One of the most controversial parts of the Good Friday Agreement was the decision to grant early release to certain paramilitary prisoners. A total of 428 prisoners have been freed under the terms of the early release programme, including 143 who were serving life sentences. The scheme was granted only to paramilitary prisoners whose organisations were on ceasefire at the time of the Agreement

Decommissioning On 28 July 2005, the IRA Army Council announced an end to its armed campaign and ordered to dump arms. "We are satisfied that the arms decommissioned represent the totality of the IRA's arsenal." 19th IMC report confirmed that IRA Army Council is “no longer operational or functional”. In November 2007 the UDA announced it would “stand down”. It has yet to do so or decommission any weapons.

Policing Reforms GFA set up an Independent Commission on Policing, known as the Patten Commission. Recommended reforming policing and renaming RUC to PSNI. Led to introducing a positive discrimination policy of recruiting 50% of members from a Roman Catholic background and 50% from other religions. All major parties now support PSNI.