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  1. Overview: Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993)
  2. Full Record: Northern Ireland Downing Street Joint Declaration (1993)
  3. Committee:British Government
  4. Monday, 18 October 1993, at 12:00

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 Government

This committee has been created to model internal British Government documents and meetings.

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Session 21706: 1993-10-18 12:00:00

[Exact time unknown] Various briefing documents were produced in advance of John Major's meeting with Jim Molyneaux.

Membership (at session start):

Michael Ancram, Kenneth Baker, Tony Beeton, David Blatherwick, John Blelloch, Ian Burns, Robin Butler, John Chilcot, Ken Clarke, David Cooke, Jim Daniell, Timothy Daunt, John Deverell, David Fell, William Fittall, David Gillmore, Christopher Glyn-Jones, Richard Gozney, Michael Howard, Douglas Hurd, Roderic Lyne, John Major, Jonathan Margetts, Peter May, Patrick Mayhew, John McConnell, David McIlroy , Danny McNeill, R. O. Miles, Anthony Pawson, Christopher Prentice , Stephen Rickard, Malcolm Rifkind , A W Stephens, Jonathan Stephens, Quentin Thomas, Stephen Wall (37 total)

Representing 1 delegations:

British Government

Imported Documents

Imported Amendments

Exported Documents

  • Revised Intelligence Assessment of PIRA Attitude to the Joint Declaration (e1070297)
    • Imported by 'Revised Intelligence Assessment of PIRA Attitude to the Joint Declaration ' (e1070311) in British-Molyneaux Bilaterals,
      on Monday, 18 October 1993, at 14:00
  • Joint Declaration: JD12A (e1070043)

Exported Amendments

Resources (7):

Resource Collections (0):

None

Resource Items (7):

Enclosure: Annotated Copy of the Joint Declaration (JD12) for the Use of John Major - (file)

Draft of Joint Declaration containing reassuring footnotes about the constitutional guarantee, the consent principle, and the limits of the language used. To be shown to Jim Molyneaux during meeting but not for his retention.

Enclosure: Intelligence Assessment of Provisional IRA Response to Joint Declaration Initiative - (file)

British intelligence assesssment of the mindset of the Provisional leadership. Takes into account contextual events including previous ceasefires, dialogue between Hume and Adams, the softening of the previous PIRA demand for British withdrawal in 1991-2, and a general softening in the public pronouncements of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness particularly regarding the Unionists. Conclusion is that Sinn Fein/PIRA feel war weary and politically marginalised. Further conclusion is that they are serious about ending violence. The assessment is also positive about the cessation of responsive Loyalist violence if the Provisional leadership is successful in carrying most brigades with them.

Enclosure: Joint Declaration to be Shown to Jim Molyneaux [JD12A] - (file)

Copy of Joint Declaration enclosed with other documents but lacking the footnotes of the earlier enclosure. These seem to have been inserted to clarfiy language and reassure Unionists/Jim Molyneaux about the limits of the Joint Declaration.

Enclosure: Speaking Note for John Major ahead of a Meeting with Jim Molyneaux - (file)

Focusses on UK legislative procedures, mentioning a Select Committee and the possibility og legislating by Bill. Also discusses Joint Declaration offering reassurances about genuine possibility for peace and noting its limits; the Unionists are not being tricked or led up the hill.

Fax from Quentin Thomas to David Cooke Enclosing a Paper Assessing Unionist Reaction to the Joint Declaration - (file)

Paper intended ultimately for the Taoiseach as evidence to support the British prediction of a dangerous loyalist backlash following Joint Declaration publication.

Fax from Quentin Thomas to NIO Civil Servants Discussing the Legal Aspects of the Joint Declaration Initiative - (file)

Reports of a discussion between Quentin Thomas and Roderic Lyne about points raised at a meeting with the Prime Minister about the Attorney General's legal concerns surrounding the Joint Declaration Initiative. The concerns were whether paragraph 3 added to British and Irish obligations and whether the Joint Declaration was more than a declaration (i.e. whether it altered the constitutional situation)

Minute from Jonathan Stephens to Roderic Lyne Enclosing Briefing Documents for John Major in Advance of a Meeting with Jim Molyneaux - (file)

Fax offers advice to Downing Street about how to handle Molyneaux and reassure him about the Joint Declaration. A key point is to emphasise the assessment of an historic opportunity for peace and to distance the Initiative from Hume/Adams. Documents are enclosed (speaking note, intelligence report, draft of JDI) to show Molyneaux during the meeting.

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