• Country/entity

  Ireland
  United Kingdom
  Northern Ireland
  

• Region

  Europe and Eurasia
  Europe and Eurasia
  Europe and Eurasia
  

• Agreement name

  Joint Statement by Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern (Saturday afternoon statement)

• Date

  6 May 2000

• Agreement status

  Multiparty signed/agreed

• Interim arrangement

  Yes

• Agreement/conflict level

  Interstate/intrastate conflict(s) ( Northern Ireland Conflict (1968 - 1998) )

• Stage

  Implementation/renegotiation

• Conflict nature

  Government/territory

• Peace process

  Northern Ireland peace process

• Parties

  British and Irish Governments (by the Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern)

• Third parties

  -

• Description

  This was one of a number of agreements signed between the 5th and 6th of May 2000 which were part of an agreed 'choreography' between the British and Irish governments and the Northern Irish parties in the talks process and the IRA, relating to a log-jam in the talks process relating to decommissioning. In this agreement, in relation to the IRA's confidence-building measure, involving third-party inspection of IRA weapons dumps and after consultation with the International Independent Commission on Decommissioning, the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach announce that Mr Martti Ahtisaari and Mr Cyril Ramaphosa have agreed to head the inspections.

• Agreement document

  UK_IE_000506_Joint Statement by Tony Blair and Berti Ahern (Saturday Afternoon Statement).pdf | Download PDF

Groups

Gender

State definition

Governance

Power sharing

Human rights and equality

Rights related issues

Rights institutions

Justice sector reform

Socio-economic reconstruction

Land, property and environment

Security sector

Transitional justice

Implementation

Joint Statement by Tony Blair, then British Prime Minister, and Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) issued on (the afternoon of) Saturday 6 May 2000

The Prime Minister and the Taoiseach welcome the statement today by the IRA in response to the two governments' statement of May 5th.

In relation to the IRA's confidence-building measure, involving third-party inspection of IRA weapons dumps, the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach are pleased to announce, after consultation with the International Independent Commission on Decommissioning, that Mr Martti Ahtisaari and Mr Cyril Ramaphosa have agreed to head the inspections.

Mr Ahtisaari is the chairman of the International Crisis Group and the former president of Finland.

Mr Ramaphosa is on the board of the International Crisis Group, and is the former secretary-general of the African National Congress in South Africa.

Detailed aspects of the inspection process will be worked out in the coming days and Mr Ramaphosa and Mr Ahtisaari will be briefed by the International Independent Commission on Decommissioning.