Back Downing Street Declaration French Dearbhú Shráid Downing Irish Dichiarazione di Downing Street Italian Декларация Даунинг-Стрит Russian Downing Street Deklarasyonu Turkish
The Downing Street Declaration was a joint declaration issued on 15 December 1993 by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, John Major, and the Irish Taoiseach (English: Prime Minister), Albert Reynolds, at the British Prime Minister's office in 10 Downing Street.
The declaration affirmed both the right of the people of Ireland to self-determination, and that Northern Ireland would be transferred to the Republic of Ireland from the United Kingdom only if a majority of its population was in favour of such a move. It also included, as part of the prospective of the so-called "Irish dimension", the principle of consent that the people of the island of Ireland had the exclusive right to solve the issues between North and South by mutual consent.[1][2]
The latter statement, which later would become one of the points of the Good Friday Agreement,[3] was key to produce a positive change of attitude by the republicans towards a negotiated settlement. The joint declaration also pledged the governments to seek a peaceful constitutional settlement, and promised that parties linked with paramilitaries (such as Sinn Féin) could take part in the talks, so long as they abandoned violence.[4]
- ^ Peatling, Gary (2004). The failure of the Northern Ireland peace process. Irish Academic Press, p. 58; ISBN 0-7165-3336-7
- ^ Cox, Michael, Guelke, Adrian and Stephen, Fiona (2006). A farewell to arms?: beyond the Good Friday Agreement. Manchester University Press, p. 486; ISBN 0-7190-7115-1
- ^ Clark, Desmond and Jones, Charles (1999). The rights of nations: nations and nationalism in a changing world. Palgrave Macmillan, p. 168; ISBN 0-312-22595-4
- ^ Cox & Guelke, pp. 487-88
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