- Sunday, 12 December 1993, at 09:00
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 29247: 1993-12-12 09:00:00
[Exact time unknown] Roderic Lyne reported the discussion on 11 December 1993 back to the British delegation. There was also an exchange of memos between various members of the NIO and the Cabinet about the relative importance of the 'as of right' clause.
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, Nicholas Lyell, 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 (38 total)
Representing 1 delegations:
No imported or exported documents
Resources (11):
Resource Collections (0):
None
Resource Items (11):
Enclosure: Record of a Meeting to Discuss the Joint Declaration on 11 December 1993 - (file)
Reports the discussions on the margins of the European Council between the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach. The minute argues that these resulted from a hardening of the Irish position, mostly over the wording of paragraph 4 and changes to 10 and 11. These changes threatened to derail the whole inititiative. Includes a new paragraph 11.
Follow-up Memo from Quentin Thomas to John Major Conveying Patrick Mayhew's Comments, 12 December 1993 - (file)
Mayhew suggests that alternatives to the "as of right" sentence should include the words "properly" or "legitmately", or accept the version from the Butler/Nally group.
Joint Declaration: Letter from Quentin Thomas to John Major Analysing 'As of Right' Sentence - (file)
Advice and analysis of a sentence in the Joint Declaration
Joint Declaration: Letter from Quentin Thomas to John Major Analysing 'As of Right' Sentence - (file)
Advice and analysis of a sentence in the Joint Declaration
Joint Declaration: Update from Quentin Thomas to John Major Concerning 'As of Right' Sentence - (file)
Follows an earlier note (found below); states SoS opinion on a controversial sentence and suggests some alternatives
Joint Declaration: Update from Quentin Thomas to John Major Concerning 'As of Right' Sentence - (file)
Follows an earlier note (found below); states SoS opinion on a controversial sentence and suggests some alternatives
Memo from Quentin Thomas to John Major Advising on the 'As of Right' Sentence, 12 December 1993 - (link)
This memo, from Quentin Thomas to John Major, provides an analysis of the 'as of right' sentence in the Joint Declaration. It highlights the issues with the word 'independent' and its replacement by 'including a sovereign united Ireland' and notes Molyneaux's objections to this. It notes that the 'as of right' clause itself can be accepted on a political rather than a legal basis and is likely to be a sticking point for the Irish delegation. It concludes that the British government delegation should not break on this sentence and offers alternative versions which might be acceptable to the Irish delegation.
Memo from Robin Butler to John Major Commenting on Quentin Thomas' Memo, 12 December 1993 - (file)
Butler offers some comments on the "as of right" phraseology debate and on tactics with the Taoiseach.
Record of Meeting between Roderic Lyne and Martin Mansergh, Noel Dorr and Seán Ó hUiginn on 11 December 1993 - (file)
Meeting between Roderic Lyne and Martin Mansergh, Noel Dorr and Seán Ó hUiginn after the European Council had finished. Discussion held on amendments to JD15
Summary Record of Joint Declaration Meetings in Brussels on 10 and 11 December 1993 - (file)
Reports the discussions on the margins of the European Council between the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach. Encloses a minute of these exchanges.
Summary Record of Joint Declaration Meetings on 10/11 December 1993 in Brussels - (file)
Overview of discussions in Brussels on 10/12/1993 and 11/12/1993. Provides a summary of the "upshot of the three meetings", mainly around relations with the Irish government. Letter encloses a more detailed account of the second meeting (filed below)
Summary of events in this session:
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Events (4)
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