Bill Summary
This legislation is a resolution calling for the restoration of power-sharing in Northern Ireland. It outlines the background of the current political situation in Northern Ireland, where the Sinn Fein party won the largest number of seats in the 2022 election but has been prevented from taking power by the Democratic Unionist Party. The resolution emphasizes the importance of power-sharing and the Good Friday Agreement in maintaining peace and stability in the region. It calls on the Government of the United Kingdom to intervene and urges all parties involved to honor their obligations to the Good Friday Agreement. It also recognizes the role of the United States in supporting the Good Friday Agreement and calls on the President and the U.S. Special Envoy to use their influence to help restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland.
Possible Impacts
1. The legislation could affect people in Northern Ireland by potentially restoring power-sharing and allowing for more efficient and effective government and decision-making processes.
2. The legislation could affect the Democratic Unionist Party by calling for their support to reestablish government institutions in Northern Ireland, which may require them to compromise on their stance on the Northern Ireland Protocol.
3. The legislation could affect people in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom by potentially impacting their relationship with Northern Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement, as well as any economic or political implications of the resolution.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 586 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 586
Calling for the restoration of power-sharing in Northern Ireland.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 13, 2023
Mr. Lawler submitted the following resolution; which was referred to
the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Calling for the restoration of power-sharing in Northern Ireland.
Whereas, on May 5, 2022, elections were held for the Northern Ireland Assembly,
the region's devolved legislature;
Whereas, in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, the Sinn Fein party won
the largest number of seats, 27 out of 90, entitling the party's Vice
President and former Deputy First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, to accede
to the position of First Minister of Northern Ireland;
Whereas, following the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, the Democratic
Unionist Party, which was the largest party prior to the election, has
effectively prevented the convening of the new Assembly, the Executive,
and the operation of the North/South Ministerial Council;
Whereas the Democratic Unionist Party has failed to make explicit its demands
for reestablishing the power-sharing government in Northern Ireland,
other than its protests against Northern Ireland Protocol, which was
brokered by the United Kingdom independent of the devolved government
bodies of the United Kingdom, including Northern Ireland, in response to
the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union and sets out post-
Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland to ensure an open border on the
island of Ireland and in the spirit of protecting the gains of the
Northern Ireland peace process;
Whereas the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Fein disagree on the merits of
the Northern Ireland Protocol, with Sinn Fein generally supportive of
the Protocol as a necessary means to maintain an open border with the
Republic of Ireland and to uphold the fundamental principles
underpinning the Good Friday Agreement;
Whereas, on February 27, 2023, the United Kingdom and the European Union
announced the Windsor Framework to address challenges posed by the
Northern Ireland Protocol;
Whereas the Windsor Framework was formally adopted by the United Kingdom and the
European Union on March 24, 2023, but the Democratic Unionist Party
continues to undermine its full implementation;
Whereas the Government of the United Kingdom continues to engage with all of the
political parties in Northern Ireland, including the Democratic Unionist
Party, to facilitate the establishment of a new power-sharing government
in Northern Ireland consistent with the results of the 2022 elections;
Whereas, during Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's speech for the 25th anniversary of
the Good Friday Agreement, he stated that the Government of the United
Kingdom ``stand[s] ready to work with our partners in the Irish
government and the local parties to ensure that the institutions are up
and running again as soon as possible,'' and that the Government of the
United Kingdom ``must keep working to persuade all parts of the
community that returning to the institutions is the best path.'';
Whereas the Good Friday Agreement, adopted in 1998, established the power-
sharing government in Northern Ireland and institutions to facilitate
communication and cooperation among Northern Ireland, the Republic of
Ireland, and the Government of the United Kingdom;
Whereas blocking the work of the current Assembly and Executive in Northern
Ireland as a bargaining chip to resolve an external policy matter
between the Democratic Unionist Party and the United Kingdom violates
the spirit and intent of the Good Friday Agreement's power-sharing
provisions and represents an undermining of the political process in
Northern Ireland and a disserve to the Northern Ireland community that
the Democratic Unionist Party claims to represent;
Whereas the Good Friday Agreement and other past progress concerning Northern
Ireland has been facilitated and moved forward with the support of civic
institutions and leaders in the United States; and
Whereas the appointment of a new U.S. Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for
Economic Affairs on December 19, 2022, reaffirms the United States
Government's commitment to the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement,
including a power-sharing government, and the advancement of peace and
prosperity in Northern Ireland: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) calls on the Government of the United Kingdom to employ
its influence to end the obstruction of Northern Ireland's
devolved governmental institutions by the Democratic Unionist
Party and restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland as set out
in the Good Friday Agreement;
(2) calls on the Democratic Unionist Party to support in
good faith the reestablishment of government institutions in
Northern Ireland, as obligated under the power-sharing
arrangements made in the Good Friday Agreement;
(3) calls on all participants of the Good Friday Agreement
to honor their obligations to this agreement in full;
(4) supports the Government of the United Kingdom's
continued determination to bring about the restoration of the
devolved institutions in Northern Ireland as set out in the
Good Friday Agreement; and
(5) calls on the President and the U.S. Special Envoy to
Northern Ireland to use their influence and longstanding
commitment to the Good Friday Agreement to urge all relevant
parties to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland.
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