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  1. Overview: Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993)
  2. Full Record: Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993)
  3. British-Hume Bilaterals Document Library

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.

British-Hume Bilaterals

This committee has been created to model bilateral contacts between John Hume and the British government.

To see the full record of a committee, click on the corresponding committee on the map below.

Committee Document Library View

The list of documents under consideration by committee: British-Hume Bilaterals at the end of its timeline.

An alternative strategy to violence

Creator event:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 05 Dec 1990, 12:00

An alternative strategy to violence

Proposal for meeting with Sinn Féin at Hume's home

Creator event:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 05 Dec 1990, 12:00

Proposal for meeting with Sinn Féin at Hume's home

People: John Hume

Joint Declaration: JD7

Creator event:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 09 Jul 1993, 12:00

Joint Declaration: JD7

People: John Hume

Hume-Adams Statement (25 September 1993)

Creator event:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 25 Sep 1993, 12:00

Hume-Adams Statement (25 September 1993)

Speech by Dick Spring in the Dáil Debate on Northern Ireland (27 October 1993)

Creator event:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 28 Oct 1993, 12:00

Speech by Dick Spring in the Dáil Debate on Northern Ireland (27 October 1993)

No Strategic Interest Speech

Creator event:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 19 Sep 1989, 12:00

No Strategic Interest Speech

People: John Hume

Last decision:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 19 Sep 1989, 12:00

[Editors' Note: This proposal was discussed and initially rejected at a later meeting between British Government figures.]

Letter by Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich for the Proposal Document "Pastoral Response to the Present Conflict" by Father Alec Reid and Father Raymond Murray

Creator event:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 29 Nov 1989, 12:00

Letter by Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich for the Proposal Document "Pastoral Response to the Present Conflict" by Father Alec Reid and Father Raymond Murray

Last decision:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 29 Nov 1989, 12:00

[Editors' Note: Following the meeting, Ian Burns circulated the papers to other members of the Northern Ireland Office. He reported that Hume shared the papers on a confidential basis.]

Letter from Father Alec Reid and Father Raymond Murray to John Hume Regarding Their Proposal Document "Pastoral Response to the Present Conflict" on the 23 October 1989

Creator event:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 29 Nov 1989, 12:00

Letter from Father Alec Reid and Father Raymond Murray to John Hume Regarding Their Proposal Document "Pastoral Response to the Present Conflict" on the 23 October 1989

Last decision:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 29 Nov 1989, 12:00

[Editors' Note: Following the meeting, Ian Burns circulated the papers to other members of the Northern Ireland Office. He reported that Hume shared the papers on a confidential basis.]

Proposal for a Democratic Over-all Political and Diplomatic Strategy

Creator event:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 29 Nov 1989, 12:00

Proposal for a Democratic Over-all Political and Diplomatic Strategy

Last decision:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 29 Nov 1989, 12:00

[Editors' Note: Following the meeting, Ian Burns circulated the papers to other members of the Northern Ireland Office. He reported that Hume shared the papers on a confidential basis.]

Draft of a Declaration which Sinn Féin suggests should be made jointly by the British and Irish Governments

Creator event:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 20 Feb 1992, 12:30

Draft of a Declaration which Sinn Féin suggests should be made jointly by the British and Irish Governments

Last decision:

Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993), Date: 20 Feb 1992, 12:30

[Editors' note: The draft JD3 was circulated among the British Government.]