Ad Hoc Committee to Protect the Good Friday Agreement
9/08/2021 Contact: Kevin Sullivan
For Immediate Release skjsully33@gmail.com
Statement on the UK Amnesty Proposal
In July the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland released a Command Paper announcing a new sweeping amnesty proposal to address the legacy of the Troubles. The Ad Hoc Committee has studied this proposal with great care over the summer meeting with human rights experts in Northern Ireland, with victims and survivors who will be directly impacted by this legislation through the good offices of the CVSNI, and asking our own team of legal and human rights experts to review the proposal.
Ad Hoc Co Chairman Bruce Morrison stated, “We find this proposal to be at odds with both the spirit and architecture of the Good Friday Agreement. The cross-community opposition to the proposal should be enough to signal that this proposed legislation does not reflect the deep and heart felt concerns of the people of Northern Ireland. We urge the Prime Minister to withdraw the current proposal, to remain true to the commitments and spirit reflected in the GFA and to build on the compromises reached in the Stormont House Agreement and NDNA.”
Ad Hoc Co Chairman James Walsh stated, “We do not believe that this proposal will be met with approval in Washington by either Congress or the Biden Administration which has already raised serious concerns about the UK’s ongoing approach to implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol. We intend to raise our concerns with senior Administration leaders at both the State Department and the National Security Council. President Biden will convene his Summit on Democracies this December. I believe that this proposal will become an issue of contention at that Summit unless the Prime Minister pulls it back.” https://www.state.gov/summit-for-democracy/
The Ad Hoc Committee was formed over two years ago by leading Irish American political leaders and diplomats who have a long established history of supporting the peace process in Northern Ireland. The group includes five former U.S. Ambassadors as well as leaders of Irish American organizations. The Committee is bi-partisan and co-chaired by former Republican Congressman James Walsh and by former Democratic Congressman Bruce Morrison. Follow us on Twitter at @HocGfa
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