- Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
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.
Informal British-Irish Bilaterals
This committee has been created to model bilateral contact between British and Irish government delegates which happened outside of the more formal structures set up for intergovernmental negotiation. These informal meetings were sometimes crucial to the development of the Joint Declaration.
To see the full record of a committee, click on the corresponding committee on the map below.
Session 22010: 1993-12-09 18:00:00
[Exact time unknown] Robin Butler met with Martin Mansergh to discuss the working text of the Joint Declaration and exchange amendments.
Membership (at session start):
David Blatherwick, David Cooke, John A Dew, Fergus Finlay, Douglas Hurd, Roderic Lyne, Martin Mansergh, Patrick Mayhew, Dermot Nally, Dick Spring, Quentin Thomas, Seán Ó hUiginn (12 total)
Representing 2 delegations:
British Government , Irish Government
Imported Documents
- Rename Convention to Forum (e1288836) imports from British Government,
on Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 15:00
Imported Amendments
- British Government Amendment to Alternative Reaffirmation of Constitutional Guarantee in 2(3) (e1288278) imports from Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
on Tuesday, 07 December 1993, at 12:00 - British Government Addition to 3 (e1288279) imports from Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
on Tuesday, 07 December 1993, at 12:00 - British Government Amendment to 4(1) (e1288287) imports from Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
on Tuesday, 07 December 1993, at 12:00 - Molyneaux's Deletion of 'Assist' from 4 (e1288289) imports from Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
on Tuesday, 07 December 1993, at 12:00 - British Government Deletion from 4(5/6) (e1288281) imports from Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
on Tuesday, 07 December 1993, at 12:00 - British Government Amendment to 4(7/8) (e1288292) imports from Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
on Tuesday, 07 December 1993, at 12:00 - Further British Government Amendment to 4(7/8) (e1288295) imports from Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
on Tuesday, 07 December 1993, at 12:00 - British Government Amendment to 12(4) (e1288296) imports from Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
on Tuesday, 07 December 1993, at 12:00 - British Government Amendment to 12(5) (e1288297) imports from Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
on Tuesday, 07 December 1993, at 12:00 - Irish Government Amendment to 12(1) (e1288808) imports from Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
on Tuesday, 07 December 1993, at 12:00 - Irish Government Amendment to 12(3) (e1288810) imports from Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
on Tuesday, 07 December 1993, at 12:00 - Irish Government Amendment to 12(4) (e1288811) imports from Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
on Tuesday, 07 December 1993, at 12:00 - New Final Paragraph (e1288813) imports from Informal British-Irish Bilaterals,
on Tuesday, 07 December 1993, at 12:00
Exported Documents
- Timing of a Meeting to Issue the Joint Declaration (e1107532)
- Imported by 'Timing of a Meeting to Issue the Joint Declaration' (e1310648) in Prime Minister-Taoiseach Meetings,
on Friday, 10 December 1993, at 15:00
- Imported by 'Timing of a Meeting to Issue the Joint Declaration' (e1310648) in Prime Minister-Taoiseach Meetings,
- Alternative Announcement of Irish Convention (e1107519)
Exported Amendments
- British Government Amendment to Alternative Reaffirmation of Constitutional Guarantee in 2(3) (e1288278)
- Imported by 'British Government Amendment to Alternative Reaffirmation of Constitutional Guarantee in 2(3)' (e1288909) in Irish Government,
on
Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
- Imported by 'British Government Amendment to Alternative Reaffirmation of Constitutional Guarantee in 2(3)' (e1288909) in Irish Government,
on
- British Government Addition to 3 (e1288279)
- Imported by 'British Government Addition to 3' (e419637) in Irish Government,
on
Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
- Imported by 'British Government Addition to 3' (e419637) in Irish Government,
on
- British Government Amendment to 4(1) (e1288287)
- Imported by 'British Government Amendment to 4(1)' (e1288924) in Irish Government,
on
Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
- Imported by 'British Government Amendment to 4(1)' (e1288924) in Irish Government,
on
- Molyneaux's Deletion of 'Assist' from 4 (e1288289)
- Imported by 'Molyneaux's Deletion of 'Assist' from 4' (e1288926) in Irish Government,
on
Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
- Imported by 'Molyneaux's Deletion of 'Assist' from 4' (e1288926) in Irish Government,
on
- British Government Deletion from 4(5/6) (e1288281)
- Imported by 'British Government Deletion from 4(5/6)' (e1288928) in Irish Government,
on
Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
- Imported by 'British Government Deletion from 4(5/6)' (e1288928) in Irish Government,
on
- British Government Amendment to 4(7/8) (e1288292)
- Imported by 'British Government Amendment to 4(7/8)' (e1288929) in Irish Government,
on
Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
- Imported by 'British Government Amendment to 4(7/8)' (e1288929) in Irish Government,
on
- Further British Government Amendment to 4(7/8) (e1288295)
- Imported by 'Further British Government Amendment to 4(7/8)' (e1290175) in Irish Government,
on
Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
- Imported by 'Further British Government Amendment to 4(7/8)' (e1290175) in Irish Government,
on
- British Government Amendment to 12(4) (e1288296)
- Imported by 'British Government Amendment to 12(4)' (e1288931) in Irish Government,
on
Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
- Imported by 'British Government Amendment to 12(4)' (e1288931) in Irish Government,
on
- British Government Amendment to 12(5) (e1288297)
- Imported by 'British Government Amendment to 12(5)' (e1288933) in Irish Government,
on
Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
- Imported by 'British Government Amendment to 12(5)' (e1288933) in Irish Government,
on
- Notice of Inclusion of the Magee List (e1288809)
- Imported by 'Notice of Inclusion of the Magee List' (e469549) in British Government,
on
Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
- Imported by 'Notice of Inclusion of the Magee List' (e469549) in British Government,
on
- Irish Government Amendment to 12(1) (e1288808)
- Imported by 'Irish Government Amendment to 12(1)' (e1288893) in British Government,
on
Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
- Imported by 'Irish Government Amendment to 12(1)' (e1288893) in British Government,
on
- Irish Government Amendment to 12(3) (e1288810)
- Imported by 'Irish Government Amendment to 12(3)' (e1288894) in British Government,
on
Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
- Imported by 'Irish Government Amendment to 12(3)' (e1288894) in British Government,
on
- Irish Government Amendment to 12(4) (e1288811)
- Imported by 'Irish Government Amendment to 12(4)' (e1288897) in British Government,
on
Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
- Imported by 'Irish Government Amendment to 12(4)' (e1288897) in British Government,
on
- New Final Paragraph (e1288813)
- Imported by 'New Final Paragraph' (e1288899) in British Government,
on
Thursday, 09 December 1993, at 18:00
- Imported by 'New Final Paragraph' (e1288899) in British Government,
on
Resources (12):
Resource Collections (0):
None
Resource Items (12):
Enclosure: Joint Declaration (JD15B) – 9 December 1993 - (file)
Text of the Joint Declaration with British proposed amendments underlined in unbroken line and Irish proposed amendments underlined with broken line.
Enclosure: Joint Declaration with Amendments Proposed on 9 December 1993 (JD15A) - (file)
Contains the text of the Joint Declaration with amendments proposed by the British Government, the Irish Government and James Molyneaux clearly marked. Annotated. Page 5 and 6 identical. Page 8 contains revised version of paragraphs 10 and 11, as proposed by the Irish Government.
Enclosure: Joint Declaration with Amendments Proposed on 9 December 1993 (JD15A) - (file)
Contains the text of the Joint Declaration with amendments proposed by the British Government, the Irish Government and James Molyneaux clearly marked. Annotated. Page 7 contains revised version of paragraphs 10 and 11, as proposed by the Irish Government.
Enclosure: Working Joint Declaration Draft (JD15A) with Comments and Amendments - (file)
Only 4 out of the 6 pages of the document are present here. Comments marked E are from Martin Mansergh. It also includes some additions made by ministers in a morning meeting, and those by Jim Molyneaux deriving from a meeting with Michael Ancram marked M.
Fax from Robin Butler to Roderic Lyne Regarding a Meeting with Martin Mansergh on 9 December 1993 - (file)
He attaches a working draft of JD15 with amendments agreed by ministers in a morning meeting, plus two coming from Jim Molyneaux. In this meeting, Mansergh gave him some further comments marked E in the text. They discussed his slight concerns over paragraph 4 and the Irish amendments to the text. Before finally dealing with the question of an Irish Convention, the practicalities of when to launch the Joint Declaration, and a meeing between the Irish and John Hume.
Joint Declaration (JD15B) – 9 December 1993 - (file)
Text of JD15 with British proposed amendments underlined with unbroken line and Irish proposed amendments underlined with broken line.
Joint Declaration Draft (JD15) with Amendments Proposed by Both Sides and Annotations in Pen from 9 December 1993 - (file)
British amendments are underlined with unbroken line and Irish amendments are underlined with broken line. The pen annotations cross through large sections on paragraph 4 were indicated by delete in square brackets in the text. There are also some difficult to read notes on page 2, 3 and 7. It is indicated on page 7 that any mentions of the Irish Convention have been removed. Page 8 includes a new draft of paragraph 11, most probably due to the paragraph as it stood being mostly proposed by the Irish Government.
Joint Declaration Draft (JD15) with British Proposed Amendments from 9 December 1993 - (file)
British amendments focus on paragraph 4 with a reiteration of the British neutrality statement made by Peter Brooke on the 9 November 1991. There is also a remodelling of paragraph 11, where there is an expectation that the Irish side will flesh it out.
Joint Declaration: JD15B as Amended on 9 December 1993 - (file)
A clean copy of JD15B, with the Irish amendments and the British amendments marked in broken and unbroken line respectively.
Joint Declaration: JD15B – 9 December 1993 - (file)
A copy of JD15B, headed 9 December 1993. Including proposed British and Irish amendments, marked.
Record of a Meeting between Robin Butler and Martin Mansergh on 9 December 1993 - (file)
Provides an account of the meeting between Robin Butler and Martin Mansergh regarding the amendments in the draft of the Joint Declaration. Encloses the text of the Joint Declaration with the amendments proposed by the British Government, and with sections with amendments proposed by James Molyneaux and the Irish Government marked. Addressed to Roderic Lyne, and also sent to John Sawers and Jonathan Stephens. Some text illegible and highlighted.
Record of a Meeting between Robin Butler and Martin Mansergh on 9 December 1993 - (file)
Provides an account of the meeting between Robin Butler and Martin Mansergh regarding the amendments in the draft of the Joint Declaration. Encloses the text of the Joint Declaration with the amendments proposed by the British Government, and with sections with amendments proposed by James Molyneaux and the Irish Government marked. Addressed to Roderic Lyne, and also sent to John Sawers and Jonathan Stephens. Some text highlighted.
Summary of events in this session:
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List of postpone debate voted on
List of other proposals voted on
Procedure:
List of procedural motion
List of motions debated
Events (43)
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Proposal Debated
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Procedural Motion Debated
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