A resolution commemorating the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, and for other purposes.

III 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. RES. 157 Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 30, 2023 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. COONS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. KAINE, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. KING, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. DUCKWORTH, Mr. SCHUMER, and Mr. BROWN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations MAY 3, 2023 Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, without amendment MAY 9, 2023 Considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Commemorating the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, and for other purposes. Whereas, 25 years ago, on April 10, 1998, the Government of Ireland and the Government of the United Kingdom signed the Good Friday Agreement, also known as the ‘‘Belfast Agreement’’, giving birth to a new era of peace in Northern Ireland; Whereas former Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell, Jr., of Maine, was appointed by President William J. VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR157.ATS SR157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 SRES 157 ATS Clinton to be United States Special Envoy for Northern Ireland and chaired the peace negotiations, which pro- duced the Good Friday Agreement, marking the end of decades of conflict in Northern Ireland; Whereas the Good Friday Agreement stands as a historic and groundbreaking success that remains critical to peace in the future; Whereas the goals of the Good Friday Agreement remain to bring a new era of devolved government and democracy to Northern Ireland, end violence, and ensure enduring peace and stability for the people of the island of Ireland; Whereas a restored, fully functioning, Northern Ireland As- sembly and Executive are essential to the facilitation of new opportunities and prosperity for the people of North- ern Ireland; Whereas Congress continues to support the full implementa- tion of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent im- plementation agreements and arrangements in order to support peace on the island of Ireland; Whereas the new Windsor Framework, agreed in principle on February 27, 2023, by the United Kingdom and the Eu- ropean Union, will help ensure trade within the United Kingdom remains smooth, while protecting Northern Ire- land’s place in the United Kingdom and safeguarding its sovereignty as well as maintaining an open border on the island of Ireland and protecting the integrity of the Eu- ropean Union’s single market; Whereas, despite the historic progress in implementing the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements, in- cluding the Stormont House Agreement agreed to in De- cember 2014, important issues remain unresolved in VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR157.ATS SR157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 SRES 157 ATS Northern Ireland, including the passage of a bill of rights, securing justice for all victims of violence, includ- ing violence by state and nonstate actors, and reducing sectarian divisions and promoting reconciliation; Whereas the Good Friday Agreement (‘‘Rights, Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity’’) recognizes ‘‘the impor- tance of respect, understanding and tolerance in relation to linguistic diversity,’’ and, in 2022, the United King- dom Parliament passed the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act providing for the official recogni- tion of the status of the Irish language in Northern Ire- land, and for the appointment of an Irish Language Commissioner and a Commissioner for the Ulster Scots and the Ulster British Tradition; Whereas Congress played a prominent role in support of ne- gotiations of the Good Friday Agreement and has taken a leading role in promoting peace on the island of Ireland more broadly; Whereas Congress stands steadfastly committed to sup- porting the peaceful resolution of any and all political challenges in Northern Ireland; and Whereas the United States has a special relationship with the United Kingdom, including partnership on diplomatic, se- curity, trade, economic, and foreign assistance issues: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) commemorates the 25th anniversary of the 2 signing of the Good Friday Agreement on April 10, 3 1998, and celebrates the historic compromise that 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR157.ATS SR157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 SRES 157 ATS marked the beginning of a new era of peaceful polit- 1 ical engagement in Northern Ireland; 2 (2) welcomes the Windsor Framework agree- 3 ment between the United Kingdom and the Euro- 4 pean Union, and urges all parties to continue to sup- 5 port peace on the island of Ireland and the prin- 6 ciples, objectives, and commitments of the Good Fri- 7 day Agreement; 8 (3) urges all parties in Northern Ireland to re- 9 commit urgently to power-sharing and restoration of 10 a fully functioning Northern Ireland Assembly and 11 Executive; 12 (4) expresses support for the full implementa- 13 tion of the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent 14 agreements, including the Windsor Framework; 15 (5) urges all parties in Northern Ireland to 16 work collectively to ensure the implementation of all 17 commitments of the Good Friday Agreement and 18 subsequent agreements so that all of the institutions 19 of the Good Friday Agreement can operate success- 20 fully and sustainably and that ongoing political chal- 21 lenges can be overcome; 22 (6) urges the United Kingdom Parliament and 23 the European Union to support and implement in 24 good faith the new Windsor Framework in order to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR157.ATS SR157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 SRES 157 ATS ensure trade continues to flow smoothly within the 1 United Kingdom and maintain an open border on 2 the island of Ireland, while protecting the European 3 Union’s single market; 4 (7) supports the passage of a bill of rights for 5 Northern Ireland and the principle of consent in re- 6 lation to the right of self-determination for all the 7 people on the island of Ireland, in line with the pro- 8 visions of the Good Friday Agreement; 9 (8) calls for continuing attention and action to 10 resolve the injustices of past violence, including vio- 11 lence by state and nonstate actors; 12 (9) observes that victims, survivors, and family 13 members of victims of Troubles-era violence must be 14 able to fully pursue justice; 15 (10) encourages renewed attention to edu- 16 cational and cultural efforts that will ensure the rich 17 language, literature, and arts of Northern Ireland 18 endure and are not diminished, in line with the Good 19 Friday Agreement commitments on ‘‘Rights, Safe- 20 guards and Equality of Opportunity’’; 21 (11) expresses support for the new Windsor 22 Framework, part of the European Union-United 23 Kingdom Withdrawal Agreement, which ensures 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR157.ATS SR157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 SRES 157 ATS through international agreement that no ‘‘hard bor- 1 der’’ will be reintroduced on the island of Ireland; 2 (12) greatly values the close relationships the 3 United States shares with both the United Kingdom 4 and Ireland; and 5 (13) takes into account, as relevant, conditions 6 requiring that obligations under the Good Friday 7 Agreement be met as the United States seeks to ne- 8 gotiate a mutually advantageous and comprehensive 9 trade agreement between the United States and the 10 United Kingdom. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:01 May 10, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR157.ATS SR157 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS