Anglo-Irish Liaison Group

This group was set up as a sub-committee of the Anglo-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. Its remit during this period was to produce a Framework Document which became entwined with the drafting of the Joint Declaration.

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993)

This project models the series of formal and informal negotiations which led to the publication, in December 1993, of a declaration issued jointly by the British and Irish Governments. The Joint Declaration was a critical policy document which paved the way for a ceasefire and the entry of Sinn Féin into formal talks. It also laid out a shared set of principles – including, crucially, self-determination for the people of Ireland subject to the consent of the people of Northern Ireland – which would come to underpin the Belfast Good Friday Agreement and provide a framework for its ratification.

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Sessions (6)

[Exact time unknown] The Anglo-Irish Liaison Group were mandated by the Intergovernmental Conference to produce a Joint Framework Document.

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[Exact time unknown] The first British draft of the Framework Document that the Liaison Group had been mandated to produce was handed over to Ó hUiginn by Thomas during an informal bilateral meeting. Since this meant both delegations had access to it, we have considered it to be on the table in the committee from this point onwards.

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[Exact time unknown] The second Hume-Adams statement was issued on 25 September 1993. It announced that their discussions had made further progress and that they had put a proposal to Dublin. This session has been created to show the statement being received.

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[Exact time unknown] The Anglo-Irish Liaison Group met to discuss the first British draft of the Framework Document. They went through the draft line by line, reaching the section on North-South relations, which they touched on. The Irish delegation offered detailed commentary on the paper, but tabled no formal amendments. They undertook to provide either specific amendments, an alternative paper, or some combination of the two.

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The Anglo-Irish Liaison Group continued to discuss the first British draft of the Framework Document. The Irish delegation offered some specific amendments to the first section of the paper, and offered comments and suggestions on the remainder of it. They undertook to produce their own draft by the next meeting of the Group.

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The Anglo-Irish Liaison Group met to continue their discussion of the Framework Document. The Irish delegation had produced a draft, but were unable to table it in the absence of ministerial approval. Having previously exhausted discussion on the first British draft, the meeting worked through a makeweight agenda and adjourned for lunch.

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