As for the sensitivity of the symbols, as set out in the Good Friday Agreement, the hoisting of the Union flag on public buildings and stations of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) had been increasingly opposed by Unionists and Republicans. However, in 1998, Chief of Police Sir Ronnie Flanagan recommended an immediate halt to the hoisting of the Union flag in front of all RUC stations. At the Northern Ireland Assembly in June 2000, the parties vigorously debated the hoisting of Union flags on public buildings. Sinn Fein had ordered the departments it controlled not to fly the Union flag.1 On 8 November 2000, the Government adopted the Northern Ireland Statutory Rules (No 347) on flags2, which came into force on 11 November 2000. It specified certain days and occasions when the Union flag could be hoisted. Legislation has reduced flag flying days from 21 to 17.3″Good Friday Agreement – Symbols and Emblems», BBC News, accessed 7 February 2013 www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/schools/agreement/culture/symbols2.. Northern Ireland`s political parties in favour of the agreement were also invited to consider the creation of an independent consultation forum representing civil society with members with expertise in social, cultural, economic and other issues, appointed by both administrations. A framework for the North-South Consultation Forum was agreed in 2002 and in 2006 the Northern Ireland Executive agreed to support its establishment. Some commentators have called the agreement «Sunningdale for slow learners,» suggesting that it was nothing more than what was offered in the 1973 Sunningdale Agreement. [22] This claim has been criticized by political scientists such as Richard Wilford and Stefan Wolff. The first said that «he.. significant differences between them [Sunningdale and Belfast], both in terms of the content and circumstances of their negotiation, implementation and implementation`. [23] The agreement provided for the establishment of an Independent International Dismantling Commission to monitor, examine and verify the complete disarmament of all paramilitary organizations.

The deadline for the completion of disarmament was May 2000. The Northern Ireland Weapons Dismantling Act 1997, which received Royal Assent on 27 February 1997, contained in section 7 a provision on the establishment of an independent international dismantling commission. The law was promulgated before the agreement was signed in 1998. As a result, the Independent International Decommissioning Commission was created at the time of the signing of the agreement and headed by Canadian General John de Chastelain. «Northern Ireland on track,» The Washington Times, December 15, 1997. [/efn_note] The agreement was approved by voters across the island of Ireland in two referendums on 22 May 1998. In Northern Ireland, in the 1998 referendum on the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, voters were asked if they supported the multi-party agreement. In the Republic of Ireland, voters were asked whether they would allow the state to sign the agreement and allow the necessary constitutional amendments (Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Ireland) to facilitate it. People in both jurisdictions had to approve the agreement to bring it into effect. (4) Governments will endeavour to adopt appropriate legislation by the end of June 1998 to give effect to this Arrangement.

On 30 July 1998, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland declared, as required by the 1998 Act, that supporters of the Irish Republican Continuity Army, the Loyalist Volunteer Force, the Irish National Liberation Army and the Genuine Irish Republican Army could not be released because they did not observe a complete and unambiguous ceasefire. On November 18, 1998, the Loyalist Volunteer Force was removed from the list.1 «Sentence Review Commissions Annual report 2001,» www.sentencereview.org.uk/download/ar01.pdf, accessed February 1, 2013. The agreement reaffirms the commitment to «mutual respect, civil rights and religious freedoms of all members of the community.» The multi-party agreement recognised «the importance of respect, understanding and tolerance with regard to linguistic diversity», in particular with regard to the Irish language, Ulster Scots and the languages of other ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland, «all of which are part of the cultural richness of the island of Ireland». (ii) To recognise that it is solely for the people of the island of Ireland, in agreement between the two parties and without external obstacles, to exercise their right to self-determination on the basis of free and simultaneous consent, in the North and the South, in order to achieve a united Ireland, if at will, accepting that this right with and subject to the consent and consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland; The vague wording of some provisions, described as «constructive ambiguity»[8], helped to ensure acceptance of the agreement and served to postpone debate on some of the most controversial issues. These include the dismantling of paramilitaries, police reform and the standardisation of Northern Ireland. As agreed in the Good Friday Agreement, the Assembly was elected in 1998. However, it lasted until the 29th century. He was appointed in November 1999 until the Northern Ireland Executive was appointed on the basis of party strength in the Assembly. The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) had three ministers, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) three ministers, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) two ministers and Sinn Fein two ministers.1 The members of the committee were also appointed on 29 November 1999 on the basis of the power-sharing provision of the Good Friday Agreement.2 As provided for in the Good Friday Agreement and the terms of reference in Annex B of the Review Group, composed of four officials representing the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Lord Chancellor, the Attorney General and five independent assessors, was trained […].