Decommissioning in Northern Ireland was a process in the
Belfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...
as part of the
Northern Ireland peace process
The Northern Ireland peace process includes the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, and subsequent political develop ...
. Under the Good Friday Agreement/Belfast Agreement, all paramilitary groups fighting in
the Troubles
The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
would be subject to
decommission.
Decommissioning was a defining issue in the effort to negotiate peace in Northern Ireland.
Belfast Agreement/Good Friday Agreement
The
Belfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...
, or Good Friday Agreement, was signed in
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
on 10 April 1998 (
Good Friday
Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...
) by the British and Irish governments and endorsed by most
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
political parties.
It contained provisions for a government involving both
Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and
Protestants
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
, whose traditional aspirations, expressed as
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
on one side and
unionism on the other, had often clashed over the years. The Agreement recognised the legitimacy of both aspirations.
One of the provisions of the Agreement was that the parties agree to collectively use their influence to achieve decommissioning within two years, by May 2000.
Independent International Commission on Decommissioning
The
Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) was established to oversee the decommissioning. Its objective was to facilitate the decommissioning of firearms, ammunition and explosives.
Decommissioning problems
Into late 2001, the
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
(IRA) was reluctant to disarm, and went on to refuse disarmament, saying that the British government had reneged on its side of the bargain,: specifically:
* by watering down the reforms of the
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...
proposed by the
Patten Commission, and
* by failing to pull troops out of Northern Ireland.
After the original (May 2000) deadline for decommissioning passed, the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning set 30 June 2001; that date passed, as well, without full disarmament.
The crisis reached its climax in July 2001, as
David Trimble
William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a Northern Irish politician who was the inaugural First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002 and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 20 ...
, the
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...
leader, resigned as first minister of the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive, in protest against the IRA's failure to redeem its pledge to put its weapons "completely and verifiably beyond use". (He would later be re-elected.)
The peace process was on the brink of collapse again, after the Provisional IRA failed to convince either the UK Government, or the Ulster Unionists, that they had made "sufficient progress towards decommissioning".
Breakthrough
On 7 August 2001, the IRA agreed on a method of destroying its arsenal.
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
,
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...
at the time, described the breakthrough as "significant" and "historic". General
John de Chastelain of Canada, chairman of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, said the proposals had been accepted by the panel as ones that would "put IRA arms completely and verifiably beyond use." The Ulster Unionists had said they would no longer take part in the
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...
if the IRA did not begin disarming. The announcement came after meetings between the commission and a representative of the IRA.
During the process of decommissioning the
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...
demanded that the IRA release photographs of the decommissioning process in order to satisfy the unionist "man in the street". The IRA rejected these claims, claiming it would amount to "humiliation" , and that two clergymen would oversee the process instead.
In June 2009, both the
Ulster Volunteer Force
The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalism, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group based in Northern Ireland. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former Royal Ulster Rifles soldier from North ...
and
Red Hand Commando
The Red Hand Commando (RHC) is a small secretive Ulster loyalism#Paramilitary and vigilante groups, Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland that is closely linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). Its aim was to combat Irish r ...
announced that they had completed a process of decommissioning. The UDA said it had started a process that would lead to the destruction of all its arms. Originally, both organisations had refused to decommission, claiming that copying the IRA's action would amount to "dancing to their tune".
Timeline
*10 April 1998 (
Good Friday
Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, or Friday of the Passion of the Lord, is a solemn Christian holy day commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary (Golgotha). It is observed during ...
):
Belfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...
is signed, which agrees to have all paramilitary groups in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
decommission by May 2000.
*May 2000: Deadline to disarm passes.
Independent International Commission on Decommissioning agrees on a new deadline, 30 June 2001.
*30 June 2001: Deadline to disarm passes.
*July 2001:
Ulster Unionist leader
David Trimble
William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a Northern Irish politician who was the inaugural First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002 and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 20 ...
resigns as
First Minister
A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...
because the
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...
(IRA) refuses to disarm.
*7 August 2001: The IRA agrees on a method to decommission.
See also
*
Colombian peace process
The Colombian peace process refers to the negotiations between the Government of Colombia under President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC–EP) aimed at ending the decades-long Colombian conflict. Th ...
References
{{reflist
1990s in Northern Ireland
2000s in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland peace process
Military disbanding and disarmament