PRINTER'S NO. 870
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
69
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY BOYLE, BRENNAN, MALAGARI, HOHENSTEIN, VENKAT,
PIELLI, SANCHEZ, HADDOCK, BELLMON, KHAN, CIRESI, McANDREW AND
ROZZI, APRIL 10, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, APRIL 10, 2023
A RESOLUTION
Reaffirming support for the Good Friday agreement and subsequent
agreements that assert the primacy of diplomacy, democracy
and the rule of law over conflict, threat and rule breaking
and urging the General Assembly to reaffirm the support for
these agreements.
WHEREAS, On April 10, 1998, the Government of Ireland and the
Government of the United Kingdom signed the Good Friday
Agreement; and
WHEREAS, On May 22, 1998, the agreement was endorsed by the
vast majority of citizens voting in simultaneous referendums in
Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; and
WHEREAS, The Good Friday Agreement and the will of the people
brought to an end the longest period of conflict in Irish
history and delivered 25 years of relative peace; and
WHEREAS, As per the Good Friday Agreement, it is for the
people of the "island of Ireland alone, by agreement between the
two parts respectively and without external impediment, to
exercise their right of self-determination on the basis of
consent, freely and concurrently given, North and South, to
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bring about a united Ireland if that is their wish, accepting
that this right must be achieved and exercised with and subject
to the agreement and consent of a majority of the people of
Northern Ireland" as provided for in referendums; and
WHEREAS, The Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreement
"reaffirms a total and absolute commitment to exclusively
democratic and peaceful means of resolving differences on
political issues, and opposition to any use or threat of force
by others" and "support of the rule of law"; and
WHEREAS, The Good Friday Agreement established power sharing
and partnership government in Northern Ireland, as part of an
interlocking and interdependent set of institutions, between
North Ireland and South Ireland and between the Island of
Ireland and Britain; and
WHEREAS, The incorporation into law of the European
Convention of Human Rights in an explicit commitment of the
agreement is the obligation at this time of the British
government to exercise its power "with rigorous impartiality on
behalf of all the people in the diversity of their identities
and traditions and shall be founded on the principles of full
respect for, and equality of, civil, political, social and
cultural rights, of freedom from discrimination for all
citizens, and of parity of esteem and of just and equal
treatment for the identity, ethos, and aspirations of both
communities" as per the Good Friday Agreement; and
WHEREAS, In the subsequent Stormont House Agreement both
governments agreed to the following principles:
(1) to reconcile the consequences of past conflict with
a shared future;
(2) promoting reconciliation;
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(3) upholding the rule of law;
(4) acknowledging and addressing the suffering of
victims and survivors;
(5) facilitating the pursuit of justice and information
recovery; and
(6) is human rights compliant and is balanced,
proportionate, transparent, fair and equitable;
and
WHEREAS, Progress and agreements have been made through a
multilateral approach between both governments and all parties
with the support of the United States government, political
representatives and civic leaders; and
WHEREAS, The failure to honor agreements and respect
commitments and law is a fundamental breach and an undermining
of the political process; and
WHEREAS, Respecting the right of the British government to
leave the European Union, the exercise of that right has
resulted in challenges to the operation and implementation of
the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements; and
WHEREAS, The British government's Northern Ireland Trouble
(Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill is a unilateral action that is
opposed by the Irish government, all parties and victims groups,
is a direct contravention of the Stormont House Agreement and
inconsistent with the human rights commitments of the Good
Friday Agreement and has been described as fatally flawed by the
government-appointed Human Rights Commissioner; and
WHEREAS, The House of Representatives values the special
relationship, bound by history and kinship with Britain and
Ireland, and supports the continued progress, peace and
prosperity in Ireland; therefore be it
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives reaffirm support
for the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements that
assert the primacy of diplomacy, democracy and the rule of law
over conflict, threat and rule breaking and urge the General
Assembly to reaffirm the support for these agreements; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives reaffirm and urge
the General Assembly to:
(1) urge all participants to the Good Friday Agreement
and subsequent agreements to honor and exercise their
obligations to those agreements, including the re-
establishment and functioning of the institutions of the
agreements;
(2) urge the British government to withdraw the fatally
flawed Northern Ireland Trouble (Legacy and Reconciliation)
Bill and honor its agreement from January 2020 to legislate
for the Stormont House Agreement within 100 days;
(3) express support in the ongoing search for agreement
on the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol to
prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland and promote
prosperity;
(4) recognize that it is for the people of Ireland to
determine their constitutional future in referendums as
provided for in the Good Friday Agreement free from threat
and the democratic outcome of referendums be respected by
all;
(5) support the cause of peace, prosperity and progress
in Northern Ireland and continue to review the implementation
of agreements; and
(6) insist that any new or future trade agreements and
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other bilateral agreements between the government of the
United States and the government of the United Kingdom
include a report on the implementation of the Good Friday
Agreement and subsequent agreements and that all obligations
on the United Kingdom's government with regard to these
agreements are met.
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