Agreement Reached in the Multi-Party Negotiations - Transitional ...

INTRODUCTION
When Seamus Mallon described the Good Friday Agreement, 12 signed April 1998, as
‘Sunningdale for slow learners’ he was speaking as a politician with the political prize of
reaching a power-sharing agreement that would deliver peace. However, since the days of
Sunningdale in the 1970s, the relationship between the State and civil society in many
countries has shifted as governments contend with an increasing level of intrusion; an
equality agenda, especially around women and minority groups; and growing public
demand for institutional transparency and accountability. In Northern Ireland inequality,
mistrust of government and lack of transparency and accountability were at the core of
and were exacerbated by the conflict. The Good Friday Agreement, a document of the
‘90s rather than the ‘70s, allowed for an overhaul of existing institutions and the creation
of new ones that would ensure not only devolution and power-sharing, but greater
individual autonomy as well as equality among various groups. Was this truly a
transformative opportunity for Northern Ireland not only to close the sectarian divide but
to accommodate other groups not wholly catered for by existing mindsets and institutions
and to deal with issues overshadowed by the conflict?
The Good Friday Agreement drew a line under the conflict, however blurred it may seem
at times, and moved Northern Ireland into a new phase. Every society in transition 13 has
its own set of circumstances. Since the sovereign State with jurisdiction for Northern
Ireland was itself a multi-party democracy (as opposed to an authoritarian regime) the
institutional topography of Northern Ireland had democratic features, albeit adjusted in
terms of the conflict. Northern Ireland also had social and economic arrangements
dictated by class, not only as a result of sectarianism but also within the two main
groupings of Unionist and Nationalist. While economic issues were part of the conflict, the
economy more or less followed the economic model of liberal democratic societies. This
also marks Northern Ireland out from other countries coming out of conflict where, either
as a result of oppression or ideology, different economic and social relationships emerge.
What marks it out too, is that during the years of conflict it was part of a regional group,
Europe, which as well as adjudicating on aspects of the conflict, such as emergency
legislation, was promoting the furtherance of human rights and equality through a
combination of the Council of Europe and the European Union. These distinctions form
part of the backdrop to relationships during the conflict and now during the peace process.
This report looks at how the Good Friday Agreement and its aftermath accommodated
the concerns, experiences and rights of women. The report gives an overview of the Good
Friday Agreement in relation to gender, looking particularly at Strand One which deals
with the democratic institutions. The following chapters examine, under different
headings, what was laid down in the Agreement, what the implications were for women
and the implementation process. The headings are: Participation in Public Life; Dealing
with the Past; the Equality Commission; the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission;
Criminal Justice; and Policing.
12 The Agreement Reached in the Multi-Party Negotiations, Belfast, 10 April 1998. Throughout this report
referred to as the Good Friday Agreement or the Agreement
13 Whether Northern Ireland is in transition is contested, as are issues pertaining to the conflict itself. See
Bell, C. Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland, Fordham International Law Journal, Vol. 26, No. 4, April 2003
1